


Of Other Moons

by fre_fics



Series: Of Other Moons Universe [1]
Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst, Dancer Kwon Soonyoung | Hoshi, Dancer Wen Junhui, Eventual Relationships, Eventual Smut, Feelings, Hoshi is also YouTube famous, How Do I Tag, M/M, Mingyu is in a Fraternity, My First Fanfic, Mysterious App, Not Proofread, Partying, Producer Lee Jihoon | Woozi, Psychological, Seokmin and Chan are brothers, Smut in like two scenes, Underage Drinking, Wonwoo is a film major
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-22
Updated: 2019-03-14
Packaged: 2019-10-14 13:58:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 58,505
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17509922
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fre_fics/pseuds/fre_fics
Summary: 13 guys at South Korea University American Campus (SKUA) all one day randomly get an app titled Night Sky downloaded on their phones. The app can’t be un-downloaded, or even destroyed. It’s a mysterious app that walks each person through steps that eventually lead them to the other members. They’re told they’re part of a project that will guarantee them satisfaction. Each boy gets promised something different out of the app motivating them to put up with the sometimes ridiculous tasks and strange rules.All Wonwoo’s life he’s been stable. A good family, enough money, even a set career goal in mind. But when an app suddenly tells him he will “discover stability” he doesn’t understand one bit. That is until he meets Mingyu and the other members of the project and he finally gets the change he’s always wanted. But could Night Sky actually be a nightmare?AKA a meanie fic in which Mingyu can flirt but he can’t love and that’s a problem.





	1. Welcome to Night Sky

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! This is my first time writing a fic, so please go easy on me! If you like the fic please show me love and share it with people you think might like it <3
> 
> Pictures are my edits ^_^

_Welcome to Night Sky._

_You may be wondering why this app is on your phone, or why you can’t uninstall it._

_Please do not be alarmed. This is not a scam, a virus, or any other bad thing._

_Along with 12 other people, you have been selected for this project, because of the following qualifications:_

  * _You are a student at South Korea University American Campus (SKUA)_


  * _You have a skill needed for this project_


  * _You are in search of satisfaction_



_You most likely have questions, but please do not fret. They will be answered soon._

_This project has rules. If you do not follow them you will be in jeopardy of failing the project and hurting the other 12 people involved._

_Rule 1: Do not tell anyone else about this app. You may only speak about this project with the 12 others._

_Rule 2: If you fail to complete a task or don’t follow instructions there will be consequences._

_Rule 3: You will receive compensation in the form of what you want the most (see below). You are not to share this with anyone INCLUDING the other members of this project, until you are given the okay to do so from this app. Once you have achieved this goal, the project will end for you._

_Your Night Sky Goal:_ _To Discover Stability_

_Your phone will notify you when you have a new Night Sky message. Once every couple of weeks, you will meet a member of the project. You may not reveal their identity to other members of the project. You will have a chart in this app that shows you when you and another member mutually know about another member. The point of secrecy is to not give away anyone’s end goal._

_Thank you for your cooperation on this project and I hope you find satisfaction._

_-C_

 

Wonwoo blinked slowly, his eyebrows furrowed. He read the message two more times over and looked around the library. Maybe he was being pranked. He had already tried to delete the app but it hadn’t worked. Questions floated around in his head.

Satisfaction? What sort of satisfaction was this app promising? And what does his goal mean by discovering stability? He was plenty stable...at least he thinks.

He’s in his third year of college studying film with two part time jobs. Wasn’t that stable?

Just then another message popped up in the app.

_Welcome,_ **_Round Heart_ ** _. Please click here for your first task._

Round Heart? Not the name he’d give himself.

The signed “C” at the bottom of the introduction message taunted him. Who was this C? Did he know the creator of the app and project?

The button Wonwoo was supposed to press blinked at him impatiently.

Giving into his own curiosity he clicked and was led to the next screen.

_Your first task is to go to_ _this_ _location this Friday._

After pressing the hyperlink, Wonwoo rolled his eyes.

A screenshot from details to go to a party hosted by different Greek organizations on campus for rushing interest was attached.

Greek life never failed to surprise Wonwoo. He just didn’t realize how far fraternities and sororities would go to try to recruit people.

His phone buzzed and a text from his roommate popped up.

_WHERE ARE YOU?_

_WONWOO?_

_HELLO?_

_MEET ME IN THE ROOM IT’S IMPORTANT._

If a normal roommate had sent those messages it would’ve been more concerning. But Wonwoo just chuckled and sent a quick text back to his over dramatic friend promising he was on his way.

His phone buzzed again as he gathered his long forgotten summer film studies final research paper that he had waited until today, the first day of classes, to do and made his way out of the library.

_The chat feature is now available. Your first REVEAL will happen today. You are to meet another member of the project, together you will complete the first task together._

_You are now chatting with_ **_Innocent Power._ **

All of the terms the app was using had Wonwoo confused. A reveal? Was that some fraternity vocabulary that he clearly would not have known because he would never join one?

**_Innocent Power_ ** _: Hello._

The new person reached out first.

**_Innocent Power:_ ** _I don’t know who you are, or how you’re doing this, but stop it. I could take this to the police._

Wonwoo was quick to respond.

**_Round Heart:_ ** _Whoa wait! I’m not the one who made this app. I’m just as confused and probably scared as you are._

**_Innocent Power:_ ** _Who are you?_

He hesitated.

**_Round Heart:_ ** _We’re not allowed to reveal our true identities until we’re instructed to do so right?_

**_Innocent Power:_ ** _I’m Audrey Hepburn._

Wonwoo shook his head in surprise. He also almost ran into someone while walking.

“Watch where you’re going.” A girl with long dark hair warned in a soft voice.

After apologizing Wonwoo returned to the chat.

**_Innocent Power:_ ** _Damnit. I’m not Audrey Hepburn the app changed my name._

**_Round Heart:_ ** _I figured. It seems like we have something called a REVEAL? So we’ll learn each others’ identities soon enough._

The other person didn’t respond.

**_Round Heart:_ ** _Do you think this is for Greek life? They’re always doing something shady...Unless you’re in Greek life then I’m sorry?_

**_Innocent Power:_ ** _Lol. No I’m not. And maybe you’re right? It’s killing me though. I need to tell someone about this. How are we supposed to meet?_

**_C has entered the chat._ **

**_C:_ ** _Hello._

The creator of the app?

Wonwoo had finally reached his dorm building. He fumbled around for his student ID to swipe himself in as he watched the messages continue.

**_C:_ ** _I am C. I am here to answer questions when I can._

**_Innocent Power:_ ** _WHO ARE YOU? WHAT IS THIS? I’M GOING TO TELL THE POLICE!_

**_C:_ ** _No you won’t. This isn’t something that will harm you. You can tell based on your end goal, even if you don’t understand it completely yet. This project will bring you satisfaction._

**_Innocent Power:_ ** _What if I think I’ve already achieved my end goal? What if I am satisfied?_

Wonwoo wondered what this other person’s goal was.

**_C:_ ** _You haven’t. I would know. Are you satisfied?_

The other person didn’t respond. Was Wonwoo satisfied? The fact he was hesitant made him frown.

**_C:_ ** _Anyways, to answer your earlier question, right about now._

**_Round Heart:_ ** _Right about now what?_

The door to his dorm room flew open just as Wonwoo was about to turn the knob.

“ROOMIE!” Wonwoo was tackled with a hug from a guy slightly shorter than him. But his roommate’s height didn’t stop the strength in his embrace. “I haven’t seen you all summer!”

“I know idiot, I was here and you were back in Korea.” Wonwoo looked at his friend. “How have you been Soonyoung?” He snickered. “Or should I say, Hoshi?”

Releasing Wonwoo, Soonyoung pouted. “Make fun of me all you want, I got offered to be in a music video!”

“What!?!” Wonwoo’s eyes popped out of his head. Soonyoung was a dancer who posted videos on YouTube under the name Hoshi. He had seen a spike in subscribers and was getting recognized. Over the summer he had been training at different music companies in Korea. “Dude, that’s awesome!”

“Yeah! It’s just as a backup dancer for a new boy group, but I’m still excited to do it!” He followed Wonwoo over to where their beds were and climbed on his as Wonwoo unpacked his backpack. “How about you? How was your summer?”

Wonwoo looked down at the notebook in his hand and sighed. “Fine, I guess. Dr. Tanko says I’ve got enough research and practice to finally film something complete. So this year I’m going to film a documentary.”

“A documentary? What about?”

“I haven’t decided yet.” He felt his phone buzz and he looked over at Soonyoung to see if he noticed. The other was too busy on his own phone.

Wonwoo opened the new message in the Night Sky app.

_Congratulations on your first REVEAL! You are now allowed to reveal your identity including your goal. You can read your common members with_ **_Innocent Power_ ** _in this chart here:_

Wait....The first reveal was…

“Ah!” Wonwoo and Soonyoung exclaimed at the same time.

“You’re in this project!?!” Soonyoung exclaimed.

“You’re Audrey Hepburn!?!” Wonwoo shouted simultaneously.

Soonyoung threw his stuffed animal hamster at his roommate. “Hey that’s what it auto-corrected to.” His eyes got wide. “So that’s why!” He bit his lip and looked down at his phone. “The app...told me to send you those texts.”

“It told you to send me over dramatic text messages and you didn’t figure out I’m part of the project?”

“It didn’t tell me why! It just said to ‘inform your roommate that you need him right away’”. Soonyoung gestured with air quotations. “Wonwoo, I’m scared. This app could be blackmailing us. Do you think it’s one of my fans?”

Wonwoo shook his head. “I don’t think one of your fans would be blackmailing you unless you did something to be worthy of blackmailing.” He almost missed the slight twitch in Soonyoung’s face. “And besides, they wouldn’t also be blackmailing twelve other people including me, right?” He glanced around the room, wondering how the app and _C_ seemed to be one step ahead.

“So you’re just going to go along with it?”

Wonwoo shrugged. “I want to see what it leads to.” He surprised himself by smiling.

Apparently he also surprised Soonyoung. “You’re that curious?”

_To Discover Stability_. That was his end goal. “According to this app, I’m promised stability.” He confessed. “All my life I thought I was stable but I guess this app is trying to prove me wrong.” He smirked.

“That’s your end goal?”

Wonwoo nodded. “What’s yours?”

Soonyoung turned to look out the window of their dorm room. Wonwoo looked out too and watched as students walked to where they needed to go, each one on a different path.

“To dance with a purpose.” His mouth was set in a very prominent Soonyoung-esque pout. “Which doesn’t make sense to me because I think I dance with a lot of purpose.”

It didn’t make sense to Wonwoo either.

Instead of pondering he decided to ask, “Did you get your first task?”

Soonyoung groaned. “Yeah, I have to go to a Greek life party.”

“Me too.” Wonwoo raised an eyebrow. “Friday?”

“Yeah. Why do you think we have to go?”

“Maybe more members of this project will be there.” Wonwoo thought aloud. “Although from what the app said, it seems like we wouldn’t know their identity.”

Soonyoung nodded in agreement. “I wonder what kind of people the others are.”

Wonwoo sighed at the thought. “Probably some assholes in a frat.”

His phone buzzed and suddenly a reminder was put into his calendar.

_Friday, September 6th. 3:00PM-Activities Fair at the Student Plaza, 7:00PM-work at the Communications Office, 10:00PM, party at Gamma Alpha Upsilon house_

“Definitely, some assholes in a frat.”


	2. Some Assholes in a Frat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Here's the second chapter, I hope you all enjoy!
> 
> If you don't know what Greek Life or what some terms mean here is a quick rundown:  
> Greek Life: Fraternities (usually all male) and Sororities (usually all female) that use letters from the Greek alphabet to name their group, usually groups that partake in social activities  
> Potential: A person who might join the fraternity or sorority and is showing interest  
> Rushing/rush: Partaking in activities to join a fraternity or sorority

“Hey kid! You look like you could use some fun in a totally non-offensive way! No seriously man, why would you wear those pants with those sandals?”

“Looks like Theater Pi is back at it again.” Minghao chuckled.

Mingyu looked over at the guy with dyed blonde hair waving a flyer in the shape of wings at a poor freshman.

“No thanks.” Mingyu heard the kid say. “I uh, want to go check out Gamma Alpha Upsilon.”

He watched the first year boy with dirty blonde hair step around Tau Pi, Theater Pi as all of Greek life liked to refer to the seemingly theatrical nature of the gender-inclusive fraternity, and walk over to where Mingyu was standing in front of his own fraternity’s table.

Mingyu and Minghao were in a popular fraternity on campus, not as popular as others, but still well known. A couple of Mingyu’s fraternity brothers were already talking to other potential rushers so he decided to take on the new guy.

“Hey, man.” He smiled and did one of those quick head nods as a greeting.

The guy greeted him back the same way. “Hey.”

“I saw you meet Tau Pi. They put on quite the performance, don’t they?” Mingyu glanced down at the boy’s sandals, remembering what the Tau Pi guy had said. They were brown and plain and they didn’t seem awful with the cream shorts and plaid shirt the guy wore.

“That guy doesn’t know fashion.” Minghao appeared at Mingyu’s side again. “But I would suggest tucking in one side of your shirt and adding a statement belt.”

Minghao was quite the fashionista. Mingyu’s best friend had many interests and fashion had been his most recent passion. He was currently doing everything in his power to make his serenity blue Gamma Alpha Upsilon t-shirt fashionable with the sleeves rolled up and tucked in to beige slacks paired with black loafers. His wire sunglasses hung on his nose.

“The8 here is a fashion icon.” Mingyu teased.

“The8?” The freshman asked.

“It’s my blog name. I have quite the following.” Minghao pulled out his phone to boast about his blog. “The name comes from 8 looking like an infinity sign.”

“Why not just call yourself The Infinity?” The kid asked.

“Cause that sounds arrogant.” Minghao looked offended then showed the freshman his blog.

Meanwhile Mingyu glanced up and looked around at the rest of the activities fair. From a distance he could hear the singing voices of the a capella club and watched as freshmen flocked to see them perform. Sports teams showed off special skills to get people to join their intramural league as small clubs like the literary club and the magic club drew one or two students in a less flashy attitude.

A year ago Mingyu was here at this very fair, heeding advice from his mom to join a club to make new friends. Mingyu had no particular interest and after some pondering settled on joining a fraternity after Minghao convinced him to. The two had known each other since middle school when Minghao moved to Korea. They both decided to become exchange students in college and went to the South Korea University American Campus. Since coming here Mingyu grew friendly with most of the student body, but he still hadn’t felt like he had made any true, new friends.

“Um, hi.” Someone had approached Mingyu and he hadn’t even noticed.

“Oh hey, sorry.” Mingyu shifted his focus on the new person. “You interested in joining the Gamma?”

“Uh, no?”

Mingyu frowned, feeling hurt from the rejection.

He quickly got over it once he noticed how cute his rejector was.

The guy was only about two inches shorter than him, which was tall because Mingyu was a skyscraper, with black hair, a sharp jawline, defined cheekbones, and...a camera?

“I’m with the communications office, I’m filming a video on the activities fair. I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions about Greek life.”  

“Sure.” Mingyu quickly swiped at his hair.

“Your hair looks fine.” The guy mumbled, looking away slightly, which Mingyu found made his heart thump harder.

“Thanks.” He smiled. “So what do you have to ask?”

The guy trained his camera back on Mingyu’s face. “Can you introduce yourself and your fraternity?”

“Hi, I’m Mingyu, a brother of Gamma Alpha Upsilon. Um, I’m a sophomore and I’m studying Media and Communications. Our motto is ‘bounce to what’s good, forever brotherhood’. Our colors are rose quartz pink and-”

“Whoa there Tinder,” The guy chuckled. “I literally just needed your name and your fraternity's name.” He was messing with a setting on his camera. “So why is the activities fair important for Greek life?”

Mingyu grinned at the other guy’s joke. “Well, the activities fair is a great way to get new students interested in college life. Greek life is one of those experiences that only happens in college. So in a sense it’s a gateway to a lifetime memory.”

“How romantic.” The cameraman rolled his eyes but Mingyu noticed he was smiling.

Mingyu was about to ask him what sort of answer other clubs had been giving but he was interrupted when someone slung an arm around him.

“You’re interviewing this guy?” Minghao laughed.

“Dude, I thought you were talking to a potential.” Mingyu grit his teeth, for some reason not wanting Minghao to tease him in front of camera boy.

Minghao nodded at the boy who seemed to be getting along well with a couple of other guys from their frat. “He’s doing fine. Now what’s this about a video? As you can see I am the most fashionable of the brothers.”

The boy nodded but lowered the camera. “That you are. Thanks though, I’ve got everything I need. Thanks.” He gave a quick smile to Mingyu, looking like he wanted to say more, but decided against it and made his way over to Tau Pi.

“Wait!” Minghao called after the boy. “You don’t want to talk to them! They give out faulty fashion advice.”

“Will you shut up about that already?” Mingyu playfully shoved his friend.

“Hi Mingyu!” A couple of girls from a sorority had come up to him. “We’re interested in rushing!” They joked. Which sorority were they in again? Did he know these people?

“Uh, oh, Mr. Popular strikes again.” Minghao whispered to his friend.

“Hey Mingyu, when are you going to take me out?” One of the girls asked.

“No, he was going to take me out, right babe?” Another one gave a death glare to her friend then batted her eyes at him.

“Uh, sorry girls. I’ve got a fraternity thing tonight.” He smiled, apologetically.

“Oh yeah, the party! We’ll be there!” One of the other girls was tugging at her two friends. “Save me a dance, Mingyu!” She giggled and dragged the others away, all of them whispering.

“Whew, is it hot out here is it just MingYOU.” Minghao cackled.

Mingyu rolled his eyes. “Come on man.”

Minghao knew Mingyu was gay. Most people on campus did. That still didn’t stop most people, girls, guys and non-gender conforming others, from flirting with him.

“They love you, Mingyu!”

Mingyu flinched.

_To understand which love is real._

The corner of his lips turned up slowly in a forced grin as he remembered the words.

“Yeah, love.”

 

“But does it say ‘love me’?” Soonyoung strut another pose.

“Pants can’t speak, Soon.” Wonwoo shook his head and returned his focus to his video editor. He was video-chatting Soonyoung as he was finishing up at work. “Besides, who are you trying to impress?”

“It’s a party, Won!” Soonyoung exclaimed, the phone breaking up the pitch in his voice. “This is a Greek life party. Everyone dresses up to impress.” He held up a pair of black ripped jeans. “When will you be done?”

Wonwoo glanced at the time. It was almost 10PM. He had gone to work over two hours ago. “Soon, I want to finish this video first.” He was almost done putting together footage of the day’s activities fair.

“I have to think about functionality!” Soonyoung exclaimed. “What if I got into a dance battle with someone?”

Both Wonwoo and Soonyoung had never been to a party, especially not a Greek life party. Wonwoo wasn’t one for going out. He’d rather order pizza, and eat it with beer while playing video games on a Friday night instead of getting drunk to deal with having some freshman girl who has just discovered alcohol for the first time trying to get in his pants.

But the Night Sky app had instructed him to go to the party. Soonyoung, despite being popular, usually had dance practices or was filming dance videos so by the time he was done he was tired and didn’t want to go out to party.

The app had both of them curious for more.

“What are we supposed to do at this thing anyways?” Wonwoo paused the footage that was currently on the screen and split it to get rid of an unwanted bit.

“At the party?” Soonyoung had changed into the ripped jeans and was now holding five different shirts to try to pair them. “Drink? Dance? Make friends? Isn’t that what normally happens at a party?”

“I meant the app.” Wonwoo said in a low voice. “Why does the app want us to go to the party?”

“Why don’t you ask it?”

Wonwoo froze. He was still hesitant to talk to this mysterious C person.

As if reading their minds, which was starting to freak him out, Wonwoo’s phone vibrated.

_New message from_ **_C_ ** _on the Night Sky app._

He opened it, pausing his video call with Soonyoung.

**_C:_ ** _It’s almost time to party boys! Make sure you go, I will know if you don’t!_

**_Round Heart:_ ** _How will you know? Do you go to our school?_

**_C:_ ** _No questions,_ **_Round Heart_ ** _._

**_Innocent Power:_ ** _Can we at least know what we’re supposed to do at this party? Why do you want us to go?_

Good question, Soonyoung, Wonwoo thought.

**_C:_ ** _I guarantee if you go to the party you’ll get your first step towards satisfaction._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry Soonyoung, your pants look great on you no matter what.
> 
> I myself am part of a gender-inclusive society (fraternity but we go by society).
> 
> I finally got my YMMD albums today! I got two Mingyu photocards and a Wonwoo lenticular :)
> 
> Follow me on twitter! @fre_fics


	3. First Step Towards Satisfaction

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I enjoyed writing this chapter a lot for some reason.
> 
> Seokmin and Chan are brothers.

_I can’t do this. There are too many people here. I can’t even say hi to anyone. Is that guy not wearing a shirt?_

Seokmin was having a small anxiety attack. His palms were sweating both from the heat in the house and his nerves.

“ _Hyung_ , it’s alright.” Seokmin’s younger brother squeezed his hand, something to help bring him back to reality. “I’m not going to drink any alcohol and I won’t stay out of your sight. We’re just here to have fun.”

Seokmin squeezed his brother’s hand back then released it. “I’m more worried about why that app wanted us to come here in the first place.”

When Seokmin had first gotten the app on his phone and when he found out his younger brother Chan was also involved in the project he freaked out and marched over to the campus safety office. The girl at the front desk assured him it was probably just some prank and Chan had to convince him that the girl had more important things to deal with.

After that they had received a warning from C that they were in jeopardy of failing the project. So Seokmin decided to do what the app wanted.

Of course leading him to a college party on the first weekend of the school year wasn’t going to help.

“It’ll be okay.” Chan said. “I’ll protect you.”

Seokmin sighed. Chan’s end goal was to protect. But Seokmin didn’t understand why. Although he was the younger brother, Chan had always protected Seokmin. If anything that should be his end goal.

However, Seokmin’s result promised from the app made more sense to him.

“It’s okay. I have to be confident.” Seokmin said. “You-you can go ahead and walk around on your own.” He didn’t believe his own words.

“Really?” Chan’s eyes brightened.

Seokmin nodded, furrowing his eyebrows. “Just no drinking, you’re underage.”

Chan laughed and promised again that he wouldn’t drink. With one last look at his brother he disappeared into the crowd.

Seokmin watched as his little brother made his way to his roommate and some other people he didn’t know. They looked older.

Seokmin was worried for his younger brother. He was only 17, would soon be turning 18, but because he had skipped a grade he was much younger than all of the other freshmen. Seokmin was thankful that Chan had decided to follow Seokmin to America for college. He hated to admit it, but sometimes he relied on his younger brother too much.

Shaking his head Seokmin finally decided he should make the most of it.

He wandered around the crowded house that belonged to some fraternity, Alpha Graham Cracker Pie or something. He didn’t know anyone in a fraternity. He didn’t know too many people on campus in general. Heck, he hadn’t even decided on his major yet. He was worried that once he decided that his path would be permanently decided and he didn’t want to choose wrong.

Music that competed with the current rap song that flooded the speakers in the main room caught his attention. Seokmin found himself in another room where people were crowded around one of those screens they used with a projector back in 2008. Someone’s laptop was hooked up to the machine and some pop song was blasting out of the speakers.

Two people were currently battling it out.

One of them had dyed blonde hair covered by a floppy hat, and held the mic upside down so he could sing into it from underneath. He didn’t sound half bad but Seokmin could tell he was drunk based off the way he slurred his words. The other was a boy with light brown hair and round cheeks. Seokmin raised his eyebrows in surprise when he heard the boy sing. He had a great vibrato especially for someone jumping up and down and shaking his legs while singing.

After the song ended Seokmin clapped along with others who cheered.

The results on the screen showed and the boy with the amazing voice had won with a score of 92.

“Yo that kid is crazy!” A guy next to Seokmin laughed. His voice was soft and he had an innocent look to him, save for his many piercings. “He whooped Jeonghan’s ass!”

Seokmin looked over at the guy with blonde hair, who must’ve been Jeonghan. He was currently arguing with the other kid how if he were sober he definitely would’ve won.

“Haha, yeah.” Seokmin smiled nervously.

“You sing, kid?” The guy asked him.

“Um, a little?” Seokmin didn’t want to say no. He loved singing. He just lacked the confidence to sing in front of people he’s never met before. Especially at a party.

“Who’s next?” The kid that had won was saying into the microphone.

“Right here!” The guy with piercings that stood next to Seokmin shouted. There were cheers.

“Oh? Joshua _hyung_?” The boy asked.

The guy, Joshua, laughed and placed a hand on Seokmin’s back. “No right here.” He leaned next to his ear. “Uh, what’s your name?”

“Seokmin.”

“My boy Seokmin right here says he’ll beat your ass!”

“What?!” Seokmin exclaimed.

But laughs and cheers from the audience drowned him out and he was pulled to the center and the microphone was shoved into his hand by the previous loser.

“Careful out there. He’s got some pipes.” Jeonghan warned.

“You speak Korean?” The guy asked him, in Korean once Seokmin had approached.

“Yes.” Seokmin responded in Korean, startled.

“Then you’ll know this song.” He said in English and started it. “Party people it’s time to get cultured!” He played it.

A familiar melody washed over the speakers with the sound of people clapping their hands. The audience joined in, making the noise sound like thunder within the house.

“Everyone sing!” The other boy said. “Ohhh oh ohhh!” He leaded.

The crowd followed.

“This song is called Bang Bang Bang!” The kid yelled into the microphone as if he were at a concert. “Clap along, sing when you can, here we go!”

“Wait I really can’t-” Seokmin protested. The guy gave him a murderous look.

He started the chorus and Seokmin started to bounce to the beat reluctantly. He followed along, listening to his competitor’s voice.

When the first verse was almost done Seokmin realized the guy was going to have him rap. Now Seokmin can sing, but his rapping...well..

He didn’t have time to worry.

“Uh, okay. This is called high tone rap!” A sudden rush of confidence took him over and he started rapping T.O.P’s part an octave higher into the microphone.

The crowd exploded into laughter and cheers at Seokmin’s unexpected performance.

Even the other kid looked shocked, but he smiled and cheered with everyone else.

Finally the rap ended and everyone cheered so loud his competitor’s voice singing the next verse was drowned out.

Seokmin felt a rush of adrenaline and the encouragement of the crowd boosted his self-esteem even more. He noticed more people starting to gather.

“Everyone scream it with me!” He shouted. “Bang bang bang!”

The crowd went crazy. At this point Seokmin could no longer hear the music from the other room and everyone in their room was dancing. He hadn’t even taken a sip but he felt like alcohol flooded through him and he felt drunk.

At the highlight of the song Seokmin and his competition were screaming the lyrics together and jumping. They were getting everyone to do the wave.

“Let the bass drum go!” Seokmin and his singing partner finished together.

The audience in the room went crazy.

Seokmin panted hard, sweat making his t-shirt stick to his back, but he didn’t care. He had fun and he had made other people have fun.

He looked at the score on the screen and nodded, but still smiled.

The other kid had beat him at 97 with Seokmin at 95, a two point difference.

Normally, Seokmin’s mood would’ve dropped. But he smiled and passed the microphone off to someone else before heading to the kitchen to grab something to drink. Surprisingly there were cases of water so he went for one and popped the top open.

“Hey!” It was the kid he had sung with. He grabbed a bottle of water too. “You’re really good, you know?”

Seokmin shook his head. “Nah, you beat me.”

“Yeah, but not by much.” The kid finished the water bottle in one gulp and went for another one. “My name is Seungkwan, I’m a freshman.”

Seokmin’s eyes widened. “You’re a freshman? You started here like four days ago! How do you know so many people? And why are you at a party?”

The guy tensed for only a brief second before laughing. “Because you gotta live a little! Besides I was curious to see what a Greek life party was all about. I didn’t realize they had karaoke!”

Seokmin laughed.

“You know,” Seungkwan said, changing the subject. “You should try out for the a capella club with me!”

Seokmin raised his eyebrows and blinked in surprise. “Oh no, I couldn’t.”

“Sure you can! Why can’t you?”

“I don’t think they’d accept me.”

“Not with that attitude they won’t. You have a good voice dude, be confident!”

Seokmin smiled.

His phone buzzed.

 _New message from_ **_C_ ** _on the Night Sky app._

He opened it.

 **_C:_** _Hello, **Big Gem**. _ _Do you think you found the first step towards satisfaction?_

“So, what do ya say? Will you audition with me?” Seungkwan asked.

Seokmin glanced at his phone and typed his answer as he said it aloud.

“Yes.”

 

Wonwoo was not satisfied.

He didn’t know what he was expecting, but college parties were nothing like the movies.

People were too close to him, he could smell the sweat and feel the heat radiate off of them, and there was no huge pool with people doing flips into them. The party was contained inside. People made out on the couches and in the corners, others were dancing, and there were more guys shirtless than needed to be.

“Here you go!” Soonyoung had returned with two red solo cups and a boy. Soonyoung had failed to inform Wonwoo that he had dyed his hair today and when Wonwoo met up with him before the party he was met with a magenta, pink-haired roommate. It didn’t surprise Wonwoo though, Soonyoung was always dying his hair.

Wonwoo took the cup and threw it back. Whatever was in it was sweet and slightly cinnamony. He drew his face into slight disgust. He had been expecting the same cheap beer he already had two cups of.

“It’s apple cider and fireball.” Soonyoung laughed. “It’s good!” He sipped his own concoction. He pushed the boy that followed him over. “This is my friend Jun! He’s my new assistant on the dance team!”

“Hey.” Wonwoo nodded.

Jun nodded back.   

“He can speak Korean!” Soonyoung exclaimed. “They were singing Big Bang over in the next room and Jun was singing along. It surprised me!”

“I’m an exchange student from China.” Jun said above the noise. “I studied in Korea for a couple of years then decided to come to school here.”

“You didn’t even tell me you were gonna be here at the party!” Soonyoung said. They’d only been at the party for half an hour but Wonwoo could tell his roommate was already tipsy.

“You didn’t tell me either.” Jun said back.

Soonyoung shrugged, looked around the room and proceeded to take another swig of his drink-

Only to do a spit take which Wonwoo had to avoid by sliding sideways into Jun.

“Sorry.” He mumbled to the newcomer. “Dude, what the hell-?”

“Hello!” Soonyoung grabbed Wonwoo’s head and turned it. “Look. At. Him!”

Wonwoo shook free of his friend’s grasp and tilted his head to see what had excited Soonyoung.

There was a small crowd of people starting to form around a low coffee table. Standing on top of the coffee table was a guy. He was tall, like his head almost touched the ceiling even without being on top of the table-tall. At first Wonwoo didn’t know who it was, partly because the guy was moving around too much.

Upon further inspection, Wonwoo was surprised to see it was the guy he had interviewed during the activities fair. Mingyu was his name, if he recalled correctly.

Of course he’d be here, Wonwoo thought. He _was_ part of one of the fraternities hosting the party.

“Uh,” Wonwoo said. “Yeah, he’s dancing alright.”

“What?” Soonyoung frowned and followed Wonwoo’s gaze. “Oh him? No. No he is not dancing ‘alright’. That’s terrible. I meant the cute DJ!”

Wonwoo looked over to the corner of the room where a DJ booth was set up. A short-ish guy with headphones over only one of his ears was nodding his head to the beat with his fingers flying over the controls to que songs to play.

“But oh, no that guy really can’t dance. It makes my drink taste bad.” He shoved the cup into Wonwoo’s hand. “Here, I’m gonna teach that guy a lesson and impress the cute DJ.”

“Wait! Soonyoung!” Wonwoo called but it was too late.

The song changed and suddenly a remix of Rihanna’s “[ Rude Boy ](https://youtu.be/fvQa-mfGfbw)” blasted through the speakers. The bass pounded through Wonwoo’s ears. He watched as Soonyoung pushed people out of the way shouting, “Make way! Make way!”

Some of them started to recognize him and started chanting “Hoshi! Hoshi! Hoshi!”

Mingyu looked around, his friends started cheering for him too.

Wonwoo felt himself slowly moving towards the crowd, the music drawing him in. He downed the rest of both his own drink and Soonyoung’s. The alcohol was starting to make his system buzz and he began to bounce to the beat of the music.

He cheered along when the rest of the crowd did, except when Soonyoung started thrusting his hips into the air and sliding his hands down his body. He mockingly started booing and a few people gave him strange looks. Soonyoung was too busy shining to hear Wonwoo’s insult and the rest of the crowd was too busy hyping him up.

Finally, Soonyoung had pointed to his competitor to signal his turn and Mingyu was now wiggling to the beat.

“Come here rude boy, boy you should get it up!” Everyone was screaming at the chorus. The people around him were also moving to the beat.

Wonwoo wasn’t too familiar with American throwback pops and laughed when he saw Mingyu mouthing the words. Only to then realize Mingyu was mouthing the words, body-rolling, and staring straight at him.

“Mingyu, I love you!” A girl shouted.

“No I love you more!” Another girl shouted.

“No I love you!” A guy shouted.

Everyone laughed and started screaming they loved Mingyu.

Wonwoo stopped cheering and gulped, slightly embarrassed to have been caught in eye contact with the popular attention-grabber.

When he looked back at the dancing boy his mouth dropped open to find Mingyu was still looking at him.

“Do you like it boy? I want, want, want, what you want, want, want…” The mysterious frat boy was clearly enjoying all of the attention. He smiled when he had caught Wonwoo’s eye again then turn to the crowd and did what Wonwoo could only guess was an attempt at twerking.

Wonwoo saw Soonyoung get prepared to show the other boy who the real twerk master was when he felt a buzz on his thigh.

He stepped back from the crowd and opened his phone to see another message from the Night Sky app. 

 **_C:_** _Hello, **Round Heart**. _ ****_Do you think you found the first step towards satisfaction?_

Wonwoo giggled. Maybe it was alcohol taking over any common sense he had. Sober Wonwoo definitely would’ve stopped to question the question.

Cheers erupted and his attention snapped up to where Soonyoung and Wonwoo were still on the coffee table, their dance battle having ended. They had their arms around each other and the crowd that had gathered was cheering for an encore.

 ** _Round Heart:_** _At_ _the moment, yes. Are_ you _satisfied C?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Seokmin gain confidence, you have an amazing voice! Who do you think won the dance battle? >_<
> 
> Hope you all enjoyed the chapter!
> 
> As always thank you for the love and support! Follow me on twitter @fre_fics for character profiles and edits! <3


	4. A Moment to Remember

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this upload is later than usual...I got distracted re-watching OFD in Japan (which takes place in Akita where I am going to study abroad!). So, if there are grammar mistakes I apologize.
> 
> Wonwoo and Seungcheol are good bros...and Mingyu is a flirty, confident gay.

“And so, in order for it to match my hair you’d have to add like a whole bottle of cream, which I’m okay with.”

“Soonyoung, please don’t give my co-worker a hard time, especially when I’m on shift.” Wonwoo had just finished making an overpriced caramel latte and was about to take his 15 minute break. His second job was the on-campus coffee shop. He loved it because once a day he was allowed up to $5 of something for free, fueling his coffee addiction without having to break his wallet.

“Friend?” His co-worker that was typing in Soonyoung’s order asked.

“Nah, roommate.” Wonwoo sighed. “Soonyoung this is Seungcheol- _hyung_ . _Hyung_ this is my roommate Soonyoung.”

“Hey wait a minute.” Seungcheol said, handing Soonyoung back his student card. “Aren’t you the guy that was at the party, dancing on the coffee table with Mingyu?”

“Who?” Soonyoung asked. Wonwoo tensed, not having heard that name in a while.

“Yeah! You had pink hair then.”

Soonyoung had dyed his hair again. This time it was a blonde so pale that it was almost white. He had claimed his pink hair made him stand out too much and this newfound crush he had on the mysterious DJ had pushed him to try to lay low. Although, Wonwoo wouldn’t say this new hair was exactly “lying low”.

After Soonyoung got his vanilla cream frappuccino, because he couldn't drink coffee no matter how much sugar and cream you put into it, Wonwoo went to the back room for his break.

He took out his phone and saw he hadn’t answered the most recent message from the Night Sky app.

 **_Fair Winner:_ ** _Why do you think C is doing this to us? Like why is everything so secret if eventually we’re going to find out who everyone is?_

Wonwoo had been talking to someone new on the app for about two weeks now. Although there was no set time, he could guess the second REVEAL would happen soon.

After he had revealed himself to Soonyoung and they had gone to the party, the app had been rather quiet aside from starting a new chat with **_Fair Winner_ ** _._

There was one strange request he had gotten about a week ago. It was a personal request that had asked him to film as much as possible. The task had simply said: _Film the moments you remember._

So he had. Except he didn’t have much inspiration and so far he had a file with two videos. One was of Soonyoung and Jun dancing, trying to come up with choreography for a new performance. Wonwoo had found Jun was hanging around them a lot more since Soonyoung had introduced them, and he didn’t mind. He found the quiet guy’s presence welcoming.

The other video was one he already started editing. It was a compilation of his favorite spots on campus.

He still didn’t have an answer for **_Fair Winner_ **, so he set his phone down and pulled his camera out of his backpack.

The break room was another one of his favorite spaces on campus. The manager was a young graduate of the college who had graduated only a couple of years ago. She had originally studied interior design but became manager of the coffee shop while trying to job search.

It was comfy and homey for a college break room. There were pastel tones all around the room, including the mint blue plush chair Wonwoo sat in.

Wonwoo turned the camera on to gather footage of the room.

He was only a minute in when he heard the break room door open.

On instinct, he trained the camera on the noise.

“Making a movie?” Seungcheol had entered, loosening his barista apron.

“Something of the sort.” He placed a unicorn shaped pillow under the camera to stabilize it. It wasn’t a complete lie. He had to film a documentary for his honors project. This was a good way to get inspiration.

“What’s it about?”

Wonwoo hesitated, trying to avoid the topic of the app. “I’m filming some of my favorite spots on campus.”

Seungcheol grinned. “And this cotton candy break room is one of your favorite spots?”

“What, you don’t like the powder pink and baby blue wallpaper?”

“It’s actually rose quartz and serenity.” His coworker corrected. He chuckled. “Kind of like my fraternity’s colors.”

Wonwoo raised an eyebrow. “You’re in a fraternity.” He remembered what Seungcheol had said to Soonyoung. “Wait a minute, you were at that party?”

Seungcheol was rummaging in the fridge. He emerged with blueberry yogurt. “Yeah, I’m the Gamma Alpha Upsilon president.”

“ _President_?” Wonwoo was dumbfounded. He’d known Seungcheol for about a year and a half, ever since he had started working at the coffee shop halfway through his sophomore year. Seungcheol was a fourth year student now, and although Wonwoo didn’t know too much about him he thought he knew the basics.

“Yup! I became president this year.” He brushed locks of his dark hair out of his face before opening the yogurt. He made his way over to the table to sit in one of the chairs. “And I saw you at the party.”

“You did?” Wonwoo tried to remember what had happened. Nothing significant if he couldn’t remember.

“Yeah, you were watching Soonyoung and Mingyu dance. I didn’t know you guys were friends.”

“Oh, I don’t…”

“Alright boys, enough talking.” Their manager had entered. “It’s getting crowded out there, get back to work.”

“Yes captain!” Seungcheol joked.

Wonwoo shut his camera off and followed Seungcheol out.

They both worked the cash registers as the line was out the door. It seemed like many classes had just let out.

It was towards the end of Wonwoo’s shift, and a couple of minutes before closing, when someone walked in.

At first Wonwoo paid no attention, as he was preparing drinks and was too busy. But then, a familiar voice made his ears perk up.

“Ah Seungcheol- _hyung_! Give me your discount!”

Wonwoo looked up to see Mingyu standing in front of the register. He was wearing gym shorts and a shirt that exposed his upper arms. He looked slightly sweaty and Wonwoo could only have guessed the guy had just gotten back from the gym or a night run.

Wonwoo was so distracted he ended up pouring whip cream on his hand.

“Agh!” He made a noise of surprise and ran to the sink.

That had apparently caught Mingyu’s attention.

“ _Hyung_ , you didn’t tell me you had a cute coworker.”

Wonwoo froze. There was no one else working the shift. Their manager had gone home for the night. He was the only other coworker.

He pretended to ignore it, finished the drink he was making and gave it to the waiting customer.

“Wonwoo!” Seungcheol called to him.

There was no avoiding it now.

“What’s up?” He gave a smile to Mingyu.

“So your name is Wonwoo!” Mingyu exclaimed, excitedly.

Wonwoo frowned. He knew this guy’s name but he didn’t know his? “And yours is Mingyu, right?”

He smiled back, Wonwoo noticing canine teeth poking out. “Yeah! You never properly introduced yourself to me. I saw the activities fair video. Thanks for including my part!”

Wonwoo turned away only to be met with Seungcheol’s amused face. “No problem.”

“ _Hyung_ , give me your discount!” Mingyu requested again.

“I can’t.” Seungcheol said. “I already used it.”

“You can have mine.” Wonwoo found himself saying. He had been saving his $5 worth of something free to get a coffee to keep him awake to do homework, but he found himself falling for the popular boy’s charm.

“Really? Thanks, Wonwoo!”

“That’s Wonwoo- _hyung_ to you.” Seungcheol corrected him. “Wonwoo’s a third year.”

Mingyu raised his eyebrows. “Is that so?”

After Wonwoo had made Mingyu his drink, an iced skinny caramel macchiato, he thanked him and Mingyu left.

It was just Wonwoo and Seungcheol cleaning the shop now.

After a couple of minutes Wonwoo felt his phone buzz.

 _Congratulations on your second REVEAL! You are now allowed to reveal your identity including your goal. You can read your common members with_ **_Fair Winner_ ** _in this chart here:_

Wonwoo tilted his head in confusion.

Then it hit him.

He looked up to find Seungcheol also staring at him.

“You-you have the app too!?” Seungcheol asked, shocked.

After cleaning the two exited the shop.

“So you have to discover stability?” Seungcheol sighed after hearing Wonwoo’s end goal for the app. “Interesting, I’m supposed to stop my fear of the ocean.”

“The ocean?” Wonwoo never thought his dependent and strong co-worker would be afraid of something.

Seungcheol nodded. “I think...it means more than that.”

“What do you mean?”

He was looking up at the night sky. It was a clear night and the stars looked like tiny diamonds littering it. The moon was a first quarter moon, Wonwoo knew because he had taken astronomy as his science general education requirement, and had enjoyed it.

“Well, you know how vague this app is? Like how our end goals promise something that seems impossible or too confusing to decipher?”

Wonwoo nodded.

“I think my goal means to get over my fear of both the ocean...and the unknown.”

Wonwoo stayed quiet, listening to his older friend.

“Do you ever hate not knowing something?” Seungcheol asked.

He knew the feeling. “Yeah.”

“About a week ago the app challenged me to figure out what I want to do after graduation.” His voice was uneven.

“Aren’t you going to take over your father’s business?” Wonwoo assumed. Seungcheol was a business major and Wonwoo thought he’d make a great CEO.

“Well, that’s what he wants. I don’t know if that’s necessarily what I want. Even before this app I was questioning that.” They had arrived at a street where Seungcheol had to turn down to go towards the fraternity houses. Wonwoo just now realized that Seungcheol had always been returning to the house they had the party in. “Thanks for listening, Wonwoo. I don’t know what this app has in store for us, and honestly it scares me slightly. But knowing you’re a part of it eases me a bit.”

Wonwoo felt the genuineness in his words. “Of course.”

He turned to go but heard Seungcheol call out to him. “Oh! And you’re welcome to hang out at the Gamma house any time!” A pause. “I’m sure Mingyu would like that!”

Before Wonwoo could react, Seungcheol was gone.

A high pitched beep caught his attention.

At first he thought it was his phone but after rummaging through his bag he found his camera warning that it was almost out of battery.

Wonwoo was also surprised to find that it had been recording his conversation with Seungcheol.

Instead of deleting it he smiled and shut the camera off. This was definitely a moment he wanted to remember.

His phone vibrated, interrupting his happy thoughts.

_You have a new task. Please click here for your next task._

_Someone on your mind? Try them for inspiration._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like Soonyoung, I also can't drink coffee no matter how much sugar and cream you put in it. I love the smell of coffee though.
> 
> My updates may slow down a bit because I'm backed up on writing, but for quality-sake I would rather take my time. I apologize for any inconvenience and hope you all understand!
> 
> Thank you for the love <3


	5. Inspiration on the Mind

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter is late, I was having writers block and the original chapter felt too short.
> 
> Soonyoung finally sees cute DJ again! Jun does something rather bold. Wonwoo is getting a lot of footage.

“There are a lot more people here today.” Jun said to Soonyoung, surveying the people packed into the dance room. The mirrors on the wall multiplied the crowded room, making it look endless.

“I invited some people from the party to come to the beginner class!” Soonyoung exclaimed. Soonyoung was one of the top dance students at SKUA and taught two dance courses in addition to leading the dance team. The beginner class met once every other week and it was the second class of the year.

The first class had gone well, but after meeting people at the Greek life party, Soonyoung had made some friends, and probably admirers with a crush, that agreed to try out his class.

Despite the increase in people, which he was happy about, he didn’t see the person he had been hoping to see.

_“You’ve got quite the moves.” The cute DJ said._

_“I know! I’m a dancer. You should come take one of my classes! The beginner class is every other Friday.” Soonyoung giggled, the alcohol making him feel warm. After his dance battle he had built up the confidence to talk to the DJ._

_“I can’t.”_

_“Why not?”_

_“I...have other things to do.” The DJ grinned. “And you look like trouble.”_

_Soonyoung smiled. “I’m only trouble on the dancefloor.”_

_Wonwoo had come up to him to tell him he was leaving._

_“I’ll see you at my dance class!” Soonyoung yelled back over his shoulder._

_He saw the DJ smirk._

That had been at the party. Soonyoung hadn’t spoke to his cute DJ since then. He hadn’t even seen him around campus.

“Soonyoung- _hyung_!” Someone snapped him out of his daze.

“Mingyu! Thanks for coming!” He smiled. After the dance battle, which he clearly won, the two had gotten to talk and Soonyoung found they got along.

“This is my friend, Minghao.” Mingyu gestured. “He claims he’s a good dancer.”

“I’m also your roommate, best friend, and fraternity brother.” The guy, Minghao, said. “ _And_ I run a blog where I sometimes post dancing.”

“You post about dancer fashion! That’s completely different!”

Soonyoung laughed. “Well, I’ll be watching you today, Mingyu. Jun you can keep an eye on his friend.”

Jun looked at Minghao then turned away, Soonyoung could see his dance assistant’s ears turn slightly red. “Sure.”

“Speaking of roommates,” Mingyu looked around. “Is yours here?”

“Wonwoo?” Soonyoung asked, then smiled as Mingyu perked up at the name. “Nah, he can’t dance. If he was here he’d be filming.”

“Filming?”

“He’s a film major.” Soonyoung explained. “But, considering it’s a Friday, he’s probably already ordered pizza and is playing on his Xbox.”

Right before he started the class, Soonyoung check the time on his phone only to see a message from the Night Sky app.

_You are challenged to remember._

Soonyoung frowned. One thing had noticed about the app, especially because explanations were sparse, was that there was a difference between tasks and challenges. Tasks seemed to be small, random things, that he still couldn’t understand the purpose of.  Challenges seemed to be long-term and affect the end goal.

He hadn’t told Wonwoo about his theory yet, because he wasn’t sure if he could.

Soonyoung didn’t have time to ponder over his challenge as he had a class to teach.

Teaching others how to dance always made him feel pleased. He loved sharing something he loved with people and loved even more when others told him how much he has made them like dancing.

When he started his YouTube channel he never imagined it would get him recognized to the point he would have the opportunity to be in a music video. His success was all he could ever want.

But recently there was something lacking.

Soonyoung was having trouble coming up with new choreography. He would post covers online to keep his subscribers pleased, but nothing that he created on his own. It was as if his inspiration had run dry.

Throughout the class today he tried to remain energetic but he was distracted by the challenge the Night Sky app had given him.

What was he supposed to remember?

After the class was over Mingyu and his friend had thanked him and started talking to Jun.

“Hey, Soonyoung.”

“Joshua- _hyung_! Thank you for coming.”

The senior smiled. “Of course, thank you for inviting me. It was fun.” His expression softened. “You seemed a little out of it today, are you okay?”

Soonyoung’s smiled wavered. “I...Yeah, a little distracted I guess.”

“I understand.” Joshua nodded. “Well, just remember why you started dancing in the first place, that helps right?”

Soonyoung froze. Joshua had been his second REVEAL. Had the app told Joshua that Soonyoung had to remember?

His reveal with Joshua was strange. Instead of talking to him on the app first, the app had simply said:

 _You are now chatting with_ **_Elegant Purpose, aka Joshua Hong._ **

Soonyoung had questioned his _hyung_ why the app had introduced him in that way. Joshua explained that he couldn’t tell him more than that was what the app wanted.

“Soonyoung?” It was Jun.

The rest of the crowd had dispersed. It was as if he hadn’t even talked to Joshua.

“I’m gonna get going.” Jun told him.

Soonyoung nodded. “I’m gonna stay here a little longer. Thanks for your help today!”

After Jun left Soonyoung the studio was silent.

He should leave, it was already getting late at night. But he was frustrated that he couldn’t remember. What was he supposed to remember?

Wanting to let the frustration out he typed on his phone to give him something to dance to. [ Eerie music ](https://youtu.be/RLkGKkfmgjU) started to echo off the empty walls of the dance studio.

A song he wasn’t familiar with played, but Soonyoung could feel the emotion in the woman's voice.

He let his body move on its own, feeling the heavy piano and slow pound of the drum. It was a song that reminded him of someone walking in heavy mud or moving through molasses.

He moved as if it was just that, slowly and sluggishly. Kicking out here, a turn there, a-

“You look like you’re drunk.”

“Wah!” Soonyoung was mid jump and the new voice threw off his balance. Before landing on wrong footing he went into a roll, and ended up on his back.

He stayed there, finally feeling the exhaustion catch up to his body.

A face appeared above him. A handsome face with a cute nose, smooth lips-

“I see you’ve copied me.”

“Cute DJ!” Soonyoung sat up quick, making the other boy fall back in surprise. “Copy you?”

The boy looked slightly annoyed that he fell back but looked at Soonyoung and sighed. He took his cap off to reveal blonde hair. Not quite as pale as Soonyoung’s, but still blonde.

“You were dancing like you wanted to forget something.”

Soonyoung shuddered. “Or remember…” He mumbled. Luckily the boy hadn’t heard him. “I was just improvising. Something beginners would know if they came to my class.”

The boy frowned. “I told you I couldn’t come. I’m usually busy around this time.”

“Then maybe I can teach you now.”

“What?”

Soonyoung pulled both of them to their feet. The same song was still playing.

“Wait-I.”

Something overcame him. Instead of the sluggish movements from earlier he felt strong, as if seeing the boy had regained his strength.

The cute DJ was shorter than him by a noticeable difference. His small frame made him easy to move. Soonyoung was feeling brave, without the need of the alcohol like at the party. He put a hand on to the other man’s waist and grasped his other hand. They spun and stepped together and surprisingly the other boy followed his lead.

Soonyoung’s heart felt full. Dancing with this practically stranger made him want to keep dancing. It made him...remember. He remembered what it felt like to genuinely want to dance on his own and not for a class, a crowd, or a camera. He remembered what it felt like to dance for himself.

At the conclusion of the song the two were breathing hard and Soonyoung was still holding the other in his arms. Their eyes met.

“Uh...that was…” He tried to move out of Soonyoung’s grasp, cheeks red from dancing.

Soonyoung held the cute DJ fast. “What’s your name?”

“Huh?” He blinked. “Oh, it’s Jihoon.”

“Thank you for dancing with me, Jihoon. I felt inspired again.”

Jihoon nodded. “I-”

_You’re alone. You’re on your own._

Soonyoung’s eyes grew wide and it felt like someone had punched him in the stomach. His touch on Jihoon felt like it was on fire. He flinched out of his grasp as if they had shocked each other.

The music had changed on its own to a new song.

A song he was all too familiar with.

“Hey, are you alright?” Jihoon asked, concerned. He was rubbing his arm where Soonyoung had held him.

His phone buzzed.

 _New message from_ **_C_ ** _._

 **_C:_ ** _Relax, he’s not him._

 

“And cut!” Wonwoo shouted.

Soonyoung and Jun unfroze from their positions as Wonwoo stopped his camera. A couple of days ago Soonyoung had gotten home very late. To Wonwoo his roommate looked a little shaken up, but Soonyoung had told him he had come up with some new choreography and that he was just tired.

That brought them to now. The trio was outside filming a new dance video for Soonyoung’s channel. It was late afternoon and the sun was a hazy orange, casting a golden glow in the sky. They were filming in front of the man-made lake that run through campus.

Soonyoung had said he wanted the concept to be about reflection and remembrance, so Wonwoo thought the campus’ largest mirror was a good spot.

“Let’s take a quick break!” Soonyoung rolled onto the ground where Wonwoo was, grabbing his bottle of water and trying to snuggle up to his roommate. “Thank you for filming us, Wonnie!”

Wonwoo rolled Soonyoung away from him. “Ugh, no you’re sweaty.”

“This dance is intense.” Jun was still standing. His dark hair contrasted with the light around him as if he were a dark angel, Wonwoo angled the camera at him. “How did you come up with this?”

“Uh well, remember cute DJ?”

Wonwoo and Jun both raised their eyebrows in anticipation.

“After class last Friday he showed up and we danced together.”

“You danced _with_ him?” Wonwoo asked.

“Yeah! He was really good.” There were practically hearts in his eyes. “So I asked him his name, which is Jihoon by the way, isn’t that cute? And I asked him for his phone number!” Soonyoung laughed. “Which he didn’t give me so I emailed him through our campus emails until he finally gave it to me. It turns out he’s a music major with a concentration in music production! It’s like we’re meant to be!” He was practically squealing as if casually talking about his favorite member of a popular boy band.

“I wish I was as forward as you, Soonyoung.” Jun said, now squatting to sit in the grass with them.

“Oh? Junnie has a little crush?” Soonyoung teased.

Jun’s face was already red from just having danced, but the color had gotten deeper. “Uh, I mean…”

“I know! Isn’t it on Mingyu’s friend? The cute one who showed me his blog about the infinity something?”

“What?” Both Wonwoo and Jun asked at the same time.

“Look there they are now!” Soonyoung sat up and waved at two people approaching.

“What!?!” Wonwoo and Jun both jumped and scrambled to straighten themselves.

“ _Hyung_!” Mingyu smiled, his eyes also aglow.

Speaking of crushes.

Wonwoo stopped himself. A crush? He barely knew Mingyu. Sure, he thought he was cute, and Mingyu clearly flirted with him sometimes, but Wonwoo wasn’t even sure if Mingyu was actually interested in him. Was Wonwoo just another one of those fools that fell for the popular guy’s charms?

“Hi, Wonwoo- _hyung_.” Mingyu was now squatting on the ground in front of him. His chocolate colored bangs were swept away from his face and Wonwoo could see his forehead.

Damnit.

“Hi.” Wonwoo looked down at his camera to avoid staring.

“What are you guys doing?” Mingyu’s friend, who Wonwoo remembered from filming at the activities fair, asked.

“Filming a dance video for YouTube!” Soonyoung informed them.

“And you didn’t ask me to be in it?” Minghao feigned hurt. “You guys saw me dancing, I’m great!”

“I wouldn’t say great.” Jun said shyly. “But you did better than Mingyu.”

“Hey!” Mingyu protested.

Was everyone at this dance class but Wonwoo? He made a mental note to show up next time.

“Maybe I would do better if I had private lessons.” Minghao said.

Wonwoo tilted his head at the forwardness.

“Maybe-maybe you could get private lessons if you gave me your phone number.” Jun’s face was as red as a tomato.

Wonwoo and Soonyoung’s eyes both widened at the bold move from their shy friend.

Wonwoo felt a tap on his shoulder.

“Do you guys want to hang out this weekend? The Gamma is holding a barbecue and we can invite other people!”

Seungcheol’s words surfaced in Wonwoo’s memory. _I’m sure Mingyu would like that._

“Food!?” Soonyoung perked up. “I’m there! Can we go Wonwoo?”

Wonwoo looked back at Mingyu. “Yeah, I’m free this weekend.”

Mingyu approached Wonwoo and Wonwoo watched as the younger took his camera from his hands.

“What are you doing?” Wonwoo asked.

“Filming myself saying my phone number.” Mingyu fumbled with the device, looking for the record button. “So I can tell you when to meet up.”

Wonwoo felt heat rise to his face. His hand brushed Mingyu’s as he hit the record button for the handsome sophomore. He suddenly was inspired to film more of the boy.

He was never going to delete this video.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not one, but two people were inspired. Hmm, Soonyoung seems like he's got something else going on, what could it be?
> 
> Thank you for reading ^_^


	6. Relax, He's not Him

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry if the fic is moving slowly. I'm trying to get all of the characters and couples set up. I haven't decided how many chapters this will be but I promise things will pick up. I hope you guys are enjoying so far though ^_^
> 
> Anyways, here's some Verkwan.

“Good job today! Your serves are killer!”

“Bye, Seungwan! See you next game!”

“Bye guys! Don’t forget to work on your receives!” Seungkwan spun his volleyball then checked his watch. He had five minutes before he was going to grab dinner with Seokmin.

Seungkwan loved college. He missed Jeju-do at times, but he never realized how much he’d grow to like SKUA after only a couple of weeks.

Since arriving at college, he had made friends through attending different Greek life parties, entering an intramural volleyball club, and auditioning for the acapella group. 

Despite the positive start, there was something still nagging at him.

_ Your Night Sky goal: To feel content. _

Ever since the app had been installed Seungkwan had felt uneasy. He hated mysteries and feared the danger the project could bring. His goal made a lot of sense to him, he had never known what it was like to feel content. 

However, that wasn’t the only thing that was holding him back from enjoying his college life that felt like a dream.

Seungkwan’s phone rang. He stared at the caller ID and took a deep breath before reluctantly answering.

“H-Hello?”

“ _ Annyeonghaseyo _ ?  _ Seungkwan-ah? _ ”

Seungkwan shuddered. He hated this voice. He hated that even though he was thousands of miles away it still haunted him.

“ _ A-appa? _ ” He tried to hide the shake in his voice.

“What’s this?” His father asked in Korean. “Your mother sent you to college but she can’t send me money?”

Seungkwan’s parents had a rocky relationship. Growing up their father had walked out and come back more times than Seungkwan could count. His father yelled, got angry, asked for money, and made other ridiculous requests. Being the only other man of his family, Seungkwan grew up protecting his two older sisters and his mother. His father never physically hurt the family, but sometimes Seungkwan wished he had. Because his psychological warfare was worse.

“I got a scholarship.” Seungkwan answered in Korean as he walked across campus.

“And you’re in America?” His father ignored him. “First Jin-seol goes to Japan and now you’re in America? Your mother just told me you were, don’t try to deny it.”

“Yes father, I’m in America.” Seungkwan knew his mother couldn’t keep the information hidden from his father forever. He just wished he was there for her.

“And what are you studying? You better not be fooling around! You better come out of there with two degrees, honors and money! Gosh, is So-jeong the only capable one?” 

Seungkwan grit his teeth. He didn’t want to mention to his father than his other sister was secretly attending cosmetology classes after her day job because she didn’t want to be an office worker like their father had made her. 

“Anyways, you better find some rich American to marry and make sure she shares the wealth with you!”

Seungkwan hadn’t told his father that he had no interest in marrying yet...especially a girl. “I understand.” He said instead.

Up ahead he could see Seokmin waving at him near the courtyard of a dining hall.

“Good. This is why I had a son. Now don’t contact me again, I’m a very busy man.”

His father hung up before Seungkwan got the chance to mention that his father had called him first; not that he would have actually said it.

“Hey!” Seokmin greeted him. His face dropped when he saw Seungkwan’s expression. “Oh, um...Are you okay?”

Seungkwan could tell his older friend wasn’t good with these sort of things.

He smiled and felt his phone buzz. “I’m okay. Just a little tired from practice.”

“Do you want to go back home?” 

Seungkwan knew Seokmin had meant home as in the dorm but he couldn’t help but think of the conversation he just had.

“ _ No _ .” The bitter tone was still in his voice. He bit his lip. “No, sorry. I just...I guess I’m a little hangry.” He said more softly.

“Hangry?”

“Hungry and angry?”

Seokmin nodded, the worry still knit in his brow. “Ah, I see. Well my younger brother and his roommate are coming with food soon! Is it alright that I invited them?”

“Of course!” Seungkwan looked down at his phone.

_ You have a new task. Please click here for your next task. _

_ Trust him. _

Trust who? Seungkwan hated how vague this stupid app was.

“Is that the app?” Seokmin asked.

Seungkwan had been surprised at the second REVEAL to find that Seokmin was also a part of this weird project. When they found out, they both expressed how concerned they were about the true nature of Night Sky.

“Yeah. I have a new task.” 

Seungkwan frowned. He didn’t trust people easily so this task made him nervous. 

“Ah!Channie-ah!” Seokmin’s face brightened, his eyes turning into little crescents. Seungkwan liked that Seokmin smiled with his whole face.

Two people approached their table holding plastic bags filled with food.

“ _ Hyung! _ Vernon- _ hyung  _ let me drive!” The boy who must have been Seokmin’s younger brother exclaimed.

“He- _ what _ !?” Seokmin almost dropped the food.

“Just around the parking lot.” The other guy, Vernon, said. 

Seokmin sighed. “Fine, but don’t do it again. You haven’t had practice.” He turned and gestured. “Guys this is Seungkwan, he convinced me to join the acapella group. Seungkwan this is my younger brother Chan and his roommate Vernon.”

“Hi!” Chan greeted, excitedly. “I hope you like bibimbap!” 

“Hey.” Vernon nodded.

Seungkwan blinked. Vernon had a handsome charm that Seungkwan couldn’t quite put a finger on. He had dirty blonde hair, a defined jawline, and an aura of calm. Suddenly Seungkwan felt self conscious that he was in his sweaty volleyball jersey.

“I love it!” He told Chan.

Eating calmed Seungkwan’s nerves a bit. He found that he liked hanging out with Seokmin, Chan, and Vernon. 

After hanging out a little longer the sun was almost gone. Seokmin had gotten a call from their mother saying they had arrived to visit, it was her birthday and she had flown in to celebrate it with her sons. The two had to leave quickly, leaving Seungkwan alone with Vernon to clean up.

“Thanks for getting the food.” Seungkwan said, realizing that there was no reason the two of them should still be hanging out after their mutual friends had left.

“No problem.” Vernon nodded.

“Well I-”

“Hey do you wanna see something cool?”

“Huh?”

There was something in Vernon’s expression that made Seungkwan curious.

Vernon took off walking. Seungkwan threw his things in his gym bag and scrambled to keep up.

“Wait! Where are we going?” Seungkwan asked, letting out a cough of exhaustion from having just sprinted to catch up. 

“You’ll see.” The other boy said. “I was exploring some of the buildings on campus and I think I found this really cool spot.”

Seungkwan knew better than to keep pestering Vernon with questions about the mystery location so he opted for something else. “You’re a freshman too, right? What do you want to major in?”

“Business and marketing probably.”

“Really?” Seungkwan was surprised at how quickly Vernon had responded. He didn’t know yet what he wanted to major in. 

“Yeah, I want to enter the music industry. Maybe become head of marketing and eventually CEO.”

“That sounds so cool!” Seungkwan was impressed. 

Vernon looked surprise. “It does?”

“Yeah! You sound like you know exactly what you want to do.”

Vernon chuckled. “Thanks. You know, you’re the first person who didn’t laugh at me when I said I wanted to be a CEO.”

“People laughed at you?”

He shrugged. “People always laugh. It doesn’t really bother me though.” And Seungkwan could tell that he was telling the truth. It didn’t seem like Vernon was bothered by a whole lot.

“What about you? Planning on joining a national team?” Vernon nodded at Seungkwan’s volleyball uniform.

Seungkwan normally would have retaliated with a bitter mark knowing that the other person was teasing. But from Vernon it sounded more of a legitimate question. 

Seungkwan smiled to himself. “No, I haven’t really thought of it yet.”

“Well what do you like to do?”

Seungkwan was almost speechless. Here was this boy who he had met a couple of hours ago wanting to know more about him than his father had wanted to know about him throughout his entire life.

Stop it, Seungkwan. He told himself. Stop comparing everyone to your father.

“I like to play volleyball, and I like to sing.” Seungkwan told Vernon.

They had arrived at an academic building that Seungkwan had never been in before. The outside signs informed him that it was a science building.

“That’s cool.” Vernon held the door open for him. “You and Seokmin- _ hyung _ both sing right? Chan and I will come to your concerts.”

“Thanks.” Seungkwan mumbled, trying to hide the pleased look on his face.

The lights in the science building were mostly off. Seungkwan was surprised that the building had been unlocked. It was nighttime now and usually buildings with expensive equipment like the science, arts, and administrative buildings were locked with swipe access.

“Are you sure we’re allowed to be in here?” Seungkwan asked in a whisper.

“No.” Vernon answered.

Seungkwan tensed up. Why did he let his guard down and so willingly agree to follow the handsome stranger?

“Maybe we should leave then?” Seungkwan suggested.

“Nah, it’s fine. I’ve done this before.” Vernon assured him.

They walked up two flights of stairs then went down a long hall. There were a lot of labs on the top floor filled with microscopes, large machines, and other equipment Seungkwan had no interest in. 

The sound of a walkie talkie made Seungkwan jump in surprise. The voice of a campus safety officer grew closer.

“Quick!” Vernon whispered.

Seungkwan watched in amazement as Vernon took out his student ID and swiped it into the nearest door. To Seungkwan’s surprise it opened and Vernon pulled him into the dark room.

It was a tiny study room where the space was really only designed for one person. The door had a glass window so most of the room could be seen.

Vernon yanked Seungkwan down so Seungkwan’s back was against the door and his knees were tucked against his chest. He felt Vernon move in close to him so they wouldn’t be seen.

If the circumstances weren’t as scary as they were, Seungkwan would be enjoying the close proximity of the other boy.

A light shined into the study room but after a few seconds they could hear the campus safety officer walk down the hallway.

After a few more minutes Vernon moved away from Seungkwan to look out the window. “Okay.” He said. “We’re all clear.”

He opened the door and the two walked out.

“We really shouldn't be in here.” Seungkwan said. “And how did you get your card to unlock the door?”

“I found out that because we’re freshmen and haven’t declared our majors yet we can swipe into any of the buildings since we don’t have restrictions. Honestly a bad move on the school if you ask me.” Vernon informed. “But wait, please come with me. This is really cool. Trust me.”

Seungkwan set his mouth into a line of worry.  If they had gotten caught it would go on Seungkwan’s record. Hell, his scholarship might be taken away and he would have to return to Korea.

_ Trust him. _

Seungkwan’s mouth moved into the shape of an “o” at the realization. 

This app was like a nightmare.

Seungkwan slowly nodded, letting his feet follow after Vernon.

At the end of the hall there was another, smaller staircase. It led to a door where a sign that read “observatory” was printed.

“You have swipe access to this too?” Seungkwan asked in disbelief.

Vernon shook his head. “I wish.” He pointed to the wall on the left side. There was a ladder that Seungkwan hadn’t noticed before. “But for some reason I have access to this.” He started to climb.

Seungkwan’s thoughts yelled at him. They told him he shouldn’t be doing this, that everything about what they were doing was wrong.

Shut up, he told himself.

He grabbed hold of the ladder and climbed. 

At the top there was a platform that they both stood on. There was a small door that needed swipe access and Vernon took his card out.

After the lock flashed green they opened the door and Seungkwan was met with a warm breeze. He stepped out onto the ground.

“Watch your step.” Vernon said. Once Seungkwan had settled next to him Vernon gestured out. “Take a look!”

Seungkwan turned and his mouth dropped open.

The pair was standing on some sort of fire escape. It was small and had no outer ladders so it was more of a deck. They must have been hundreds of feet up in the air. From here Seungkwan could see the entire campus. Many of the buildings had lights in the windows, making it look like a small city. He could see students walking back from late night practices, working together on projects, or heading out for some trouble like he was currently doing.

But despite the great view that wasn’t all.

“Look at the lake.” Vernon said. 

Seungkwan gasped.

The man-made lake that was in the center of campus glittered. It was so clear that it reflected the night sky above. The stars multiplied in the large mirror.

“There are two moons.” Seungkwan noted. “Like there are two worlds.”

Vernon smiled and shook his head. The fall breeze rustled his hair. “Nah, this isn’t a fairytale.” He was looking out at the lake too. “But it would be cool if it was. Thanks for trusting me to show you this.”

Seungkwan’s mouth twitched into a smile as well. If he hadn’t let down his guard he wouldn’t have been able to see this amazing view.

_ Relax, he’s not him.  _ He thought to himself.

For the first time today, Seungkwan listened to what his inner voice was saying.

For the first time, he felt relaxed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Vernon, I think you'd make a great CEO. Also, Seungkwan's father is a dick (in my fic!).
> 
> Expect more Meanie in the next one :)
> 
> Thanks for love and support <3


	7. This Isn't a Fairy Tale

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More Greek life terms defined:  
> Pledge name: Basically a nickname that your fraternity brothers, sorority sisters, or society siblings call you.  
> Founder: The person who started the organization.
> 
> Mingyu may be in more deep that he wants to admit...and that scares him.
> 
> P.S. thank you to those that took my twitter poll to vote on what Wonwoo's hair smells like :)

“Heads up!” Someone yelled in the distance.

Mingyu turned and saw a football flying in his direction. He took the plate he was holding and shoved it into Minghao’s hands just in time to catch the football.

Some guys cheered.

“Nice catch, Minty G!” One of his fraternity brothers called.

He threw it back. “Watch your throw, Hanford! If you knew how to aim we wouldn’t have almost lost our burgers.”

“Ooohhh!” The other guys laughed at Mingyu’s diss and teased Hanford.

Minghao chuckled and handed the plate back to Mingyu as they approached the grill.

“I can’t believe you let them give you Minty G as a pledge name.” Minghao was cracking up. Today he was wearing a Gucci t-shirt and a pair of obnoxious sunglasses.

“You’re just mad because no one will call you The8.” The brothers called him Hao-Z, because his last name Xu was hard for them to pronounce.

Mingyu placed some of the patties on the grill. He loved hearing the satisfying sizzle.

The air was getting colder as September was winding down. The sun was still out which warmed things up, making it perfect for a barbecue.

He got a buzz on his phone. He was hoping it was from Wonwoo since he had invited him to the event.

 _You have a new message from_ **_Knowledgeable Kindness_ ** _._

Mingyu opened the app.

Since he got the app, he had been talking with his first REVEAL member. They talk quite frequently, Mingyu enjoying the secrecy of the conversation and the knowledge that whatever was said would remain in that chat.

Mingyu admit, he was popular. But sometimes the popularity came with a curse. Everyone around him expected him to be some great guy, but it was tiring keeping up with their expectations. This app was the change he wanted. Expressing his true self without much consequence. 

 **_Knowledgeable Kindness:_ ** _Hey, weird question. How would you describe being in love?_

Mingyu paused. It wasn’t a question he was expecting or wanted to answer when he was in the middle of a barbecue.

He’d had relationships in the past, they were nice but didn’t last too long. He did hookups, they satisfied him for the time but that also didn’t last.

Love was a strange concept to Mingyu. People threw the word around without meaning it but at the same time it held so much power it could break someone. The love he saw in movies or read in stories seemed too artificial. At the same time though, wasn’t it real because it was created by people who knew what love was like because they made the content? It hurt his brain just thinking about, so he had tried to stay out of it.

Besides, if you love something it will eventually be gone.

 **_Knowledgeable Kindness:_ ** _I’m writing a song and need lyrics. The app challenged me to write a love song, and I’ve never done that before._

The person Mingyu had been talking to, Jihoon, was a music major. He wrote songs, produced and put them online under the alias Woozi. Jihoon had confessed, he loved making music but when it came to writing lyrics he was picky. It was interesting to Mingyu that Jihoon had never written a  love song.

 **_Gentle Stone:_ ** _I’m not sure. I’d imagine it isn’t like a fairy tale though._

“Hey, Jun and his friends are here!” Minghao perked up. He pulled out a tube of chapstick and started to apply.

Mingyu looked at his best friend. “You and Jun have been talking a lot?”

Minghao shrugged. “You could say that.”

“Foooooooood!” A loud voice boomed across the yard.

Mingyu turned to see an orange haired Soonyoung run straight at him and the grill.

“Food!!!” Soonyoung hit Mingyu with a force that made him grunt only to find that he was being hugged by the excited man. “Thank you for inviting us food.”

“I see you’ve turned into a pumpkin.” He patted his friend’s bright head.

"Apparently I'm a copycat." Soonyoung mumbled into Mingyu's side.

"What?"

"Nothing." He groaned.

“We had practice this morning and he hasn't eaten.” Explained Jun whose hair was slightly wet, probably from haven just taken a shower. Mingyu looked over and saw Minghao eyeing the dancer.

Mingyu laughed. “Well you’re in luck _hyung_.” He grabbed a plate with a bun on it that Minghao had prepared and placed the finished patty on it. “I’m just finishing the first round.” He handed the plate to Soonyoung. “Toppings and condiments are at the table over there.”

Soonyoung released Mingyu and grabbed the plate from his hands. He shoved the burger in his face. “Tith ith sho gowd.” His cheeks were full, like a hamster’s.

“Why can’t I take you anywhere without you embarrassing me?”

Wonwoo’s voice made Mingyu tense slightly. Upon seeing the older Mingyu then relaxed. He was wearing a plaid flannel over a t-shirt with their university’s name printed on it and ripped jeans. Nothing terribly fashionable but Mingyu thought he looked handsome. So he decided to let Wonwoo know.

“Hey, handsome.” He smiled at Wonwoo.

Wonwoo grinned at the ground. “Hey, yourself. Thanks for inviting us. I formally apologize for all of the food my roommate will drain your organization of.”

“It’s fine.” Seungcheol was right behind Wonwoo. “He better take some now before the rest of the guys get it.” He said, putting another finished burger onto Soonyoung's now empty plate. He took the next plate of meat from Mingyu. “I’ve got the next round. Why don’t you grab your speaker so we can play music?”

“Sure!” He exclaimed. He looked at Wonwoo. “Wonwoo- _hyung_ will you come with me?”

“Okay.” Wonwoo wasn’t making eye contact with him.

Mingyu didn’t know what he felt towards Wonwoo. He didn’t know too much about him and what he did know was information he heard from other people. But he knew he was curious. And it was only curiosity, he claimed. 

But you know what they say, curiosity killed the cat.

He walked towards the house with the other boy, noticing his camera hanging over his shoulder.

“You seem pretty attached to that.” He nodded at the camera.

Wonwoo shifted to hold the camera in his hands. “His name is Nick.”

Mingyu snorted. “You named it?”

“Yeah.” Wonwoo scratched his head. “Get it? It’s a Canon...Nick Cannon? Like the guy from America’s Got Talent?”

Mingyu laughed. “That’s so _lame_.” He saw Wonwoo’s face fall a little. “But cute.”

Wonwoo rolled his eyes but the smile returned.

They made it inside and Mingyu watched as Wonwoo looked around. The walls were painted the serenity blue that made up one of the colors of Gamma Alpha Upsilon.

“Who chose your fraternity colors?” Wonwoo asked as they climbed the stairs.

“Our founder. Our frat is only about 30 years old. He claims he wanted colors that would be ‘timeless’.” Mingyu stopped in front of his room and turned the knob. Of course Minghao hadn’t locked it.

“I really, don’t understand Greek life.” Wonwoo tilted his head.

Mingyu stepped inside, leaving the door open so Wonwoo could follow.

“Wow,” The elder’s eyes were flitting around to take in the room. “Are you sure you live in here?”

Living in a fraternity house meant more space, as the rooms were rather large. It also meant instead of the skinny twin beds in dorms, they got full beds. Their room was long and there was a clear division where Mingyu’s things ended and Minghao’s started.

But Mingyu knew Wonwoo was referencing the cleanliness of the room. Both boys were the cleanest guys in the frat and possibly the whole campus. Their beds were made, the floor was clean, and everything seemed to have a place.

Mingyu walked over to their TV area as he watched Wonwoo look at some of the pictures on his wall. He opened his drawer of electronics to find his speaker.

He looked up again to see Wonwoo staring at a particular picture.

“Is this you?” Wonwoo pointed.

Mingyu stood, speaker in hand, and walked to see what Wonwoo was looking at.

“Yeah, and that’s Minghao.” He pointed to the kid next to him in the picture. Even back then Minghao had dressed up their school uniform by wearing a beret. “I think this is our first day of second-year middle school.” He sighed at the memory. The building in the background wasn’t their school though. It was the place they had called home at the time.

“You were-”

Mingyu nodded, already knowing what he was going to ask. “Foster care. My parents died when I was a baby.”

“I’m sorry.” Wonwoo was looking at him carefully.

“Please don’t.” Mingyu found himself saying.

Wonwoo stepped back. “I’m-”

“Don’t look at me like I’m fragile.” He turned and stared into Wonwoo’s eyes. “Everyone does that.”

“I’m…” Wonwoo sucked in a breath but didn’t break the eye contact. “I don’t think you’re fragile.” He had stepped forward again.

“Good.” Mingyu let his eyelids lower a little. He was so close to the older he could smell his shampoo. It smelled like vanilla. “I grew up well though.” He told him. “I’m in college, I joined a fraternity, and I’m ready to go on adventures.”

Wonwoo laughed, Mingyu noticed his shoulders relax as the tension broke. “You sound like you’re living a movie with a terrible plot. All you need is a cheesy romance.”

Mingyu raised his eyebrows. “Then it would be a fairy tale.”

“This isn’t a fairy tale.” Wonwoo was biting his lip. Mingyu's eyes followed the movement.

The two were really close now. As if the sweet smell of vanilla hypnotized him Mingyu leaned in-

“Minty G! You got that speaker?”

The door flew open and the two jumped apart.

Minghao stood in the doorway, head moving back and forth as if watching a tennis match. “Did I interrupt something?” He smirked.

“No.” Mingyu quickly said, holding up the speaker. “We were just coming down.” He looked over at Wonwoo who nodded in agreement.

“Mmhmm.” Minghao said. “I’ll meet you guys outside then.”

Mingyu turned to go. “We should get going too.”

Suddenly he felt Wonwoo’s hand on his, pulling him back. His hand was cold, probably from being outside. Mingyu noticed that their hands were about the same size.

The slightly shorter boy’s cheeks were dusted pink. “Uh,” He released Mingyu’s hand slowly. “Thank you.” His feet were shuffling. “Thank you for sharing your story with me.”

Mingyu’s mouth parted as a pang of sadness hit him. He had told that part of himself to so many people. Usually, most of them pitied him then moved on. No one had ever _thanked_ him for sharing something about himself.

He was going to respond, but Wonwoo was already walking outside.

Mingyu’s phone buzzed.

 _You have a new message from_ **_Knowledgeable Kindness_ ** _._

 **_Knowledgeable Kindness:_ ** _Okay, what do you think of_ _this_ _?_

Mingyu clicked the link and suddenly a funky bass tune started playing loudly through his speakers.

His fraternity brothers cheered when Mingyu came back outside.

They started dancing to the unfamiliar music. Some were still throwing around a football, majority were eating.

Soonyoung came bouncing up to him.

“Whoa! What is this song?”

_I adore you, I adore you, enough to get dizzy._

Jihoon’s voice, that even Mingyu couldn’t recognize, sang sweetly over the funky instrumentals.

“It’s called ‘Adore U’.” Mingyu said after reading Jihoon’s message about the song.

“I love it!” Soonyoung danced away shaking the bottle of coke in his hand like a maraca.

Mingyu watched the excited orange haired boy bounce over to his roommate. Wonwoo had his camera on and filmed Soonyoung while laughing. When Wonwoo laughed, his upper teeth showed and his nose scrunched up. Mingyu had wanted to learn more about Wonwoo today, but instead he had revealed himself.

 _So what I mean, is I want to know all of you._ The lyrics sang, as if reading Mingyu’s thoughts.

His eyes found Wonwoo’s.

_You are challenged to listen to others._

Everyone knew Mingyu’s story, but he didn’t know everyone else’s.

Except he didn’t care about everyone else’s story.

Wonwoo smiled at him, warmly. His camera now pointed at Mingyu.

Mingyu wanted to know the story about the boy behind that camera. 

With another realization, he opened the app.

_**Gentle Stone:** Do they call it falling in love because like when you fall, it hurts?_

**_Knowledgeable Kindness:_ ** _Those are some good lyric suggestions, thanks._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wonwoo is a nerd for naming his Camera. Also, what's up with Junhao?
> 
> Are you all playing Super Star Pledis? Because same >_<
> 
> Lots of love <3


	8. The Boy Behind the Camera

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is late! I've been working on my outline for this fic so to ensure I'm satisfied with each chapter updates may be every other day now (although if I have something ready to post I will).
> 
> Anyways: 
> 
> Minghao gets a little defensive in this chapter, Wonwoo is confused, and someone please let Soonyoung just eat his muffin.

“Seungkwan-ah! You’re much better at this than Wonwoo when he started!”

“Thanks, _hyung_. I’ll remember to spit in your drink next time I make you one.”

“That’s not very hygienic.” Seungkwan frowned.

Seungkwan was the new employee at the on campus coffee shop. Wonwoo found the younger boy an efficient worker, but quite the worrier. He suspected the boy didn’t do the job for the pocket money, unlike Wonwoo himself.

It was getting colder outside as October came to the SKUA campus. The coffee shop had all of its seasonal drinks out now and everything smelled of pumpkin spice. The manager had made them decorate the store with Halloween decorations and they all wore a little pumpkin shaped pin on their aprons.

Fall was Wonwoo’s favorite season. It meant he got to wear sweaters all of the time and drink an obscene amount of coffee to “keep warm”. It was a busy time for the entire campus, especially those that had mid-terms. Wonwoo himself had two papers to write and a mid-semester assessment with his honors professor to discuss the direction of his documentary.

The good thing about honors was that the first semester he had time to prepare. So far, Wonwoo still didn’t have a clue as to what he wanted to film his documentary on.

“What are you thinking about?” Seungcheol asked, the two were washing dishes.

The coffee shop was mostly empty at this point. It was the Friday that fall break started and most students had ended their day early to go back home. Not Wonwoo though, because the break only lasted four days and it wasn’t worth going back to Korea.

“I’m not sure what to make my documentary about.” Wonwoo confessed. “I’ve got the different techniques and editing software picked out.”

“I thought you were making it about your favorite places?”

Wonwoo leaned in closer to his _hyung_ and said in a low voice, “The app told me to.”

“Why don’t you film about that?” Seungcheol put down the blender he had just dried and took the next blender from Wonwoo.

“About what?”

“The app.” He said. “It’s mysterious and clearly something that is affecting your life. You could interview the people you meet, ask them about the impact on their life.” He looked around and in a hushed voice added, “You could also try to figure out the real motive behind it.”

“Don’t you think C wouldn’t like that?”

“Ask them.”

Wonwoo made a contemplating face. It definitely sounded like a good idea, but there were some things to consider. C probably wouldn’t like the idea, and would definitely veto it. There was also the conflict of telling his honors advisor, Dr. Tanko.

“I’ll consider it.”

“Alright boys! Good work today.” The manager came out. “Wonwoo, you and Seungkwan will take the shift tomorrow right?”

Wonwoo looked over at the new boy who had just finished wiping down the counters. “Yeah, I can show you how to make frappuccinos.”

In the back room Seungcheol asked what they were doing after their shift tomorrow.

“I’m assuming you guys are staying on campus and not going back home right?”

“I’d die if I had to go back home.” Wonwoo heard Seungkwan mumble under his breath but Seungcheol didn’t hear him.

“If you guys want, Greek life holds a sports festival called the Greek Games, over fall break. You could come cheer on the Gamma if you want.”

Wonwoo knew there was some sports festival every fall break, but his past two years had never been to it. He had always treated fall break as a way to catch up on his gaming. A new rhythm game had just been released and he’d wanted to try it.

“You mean Gamma Alpha Upsilon?” Seungkwan asked. “I have a uh friend who is rushing them. Will they be there?”

Seungcheol brightened. “Really, who?”

“Vernon Chwe?”

“Oh! Chewy!”

“Chewy?”

“Yeah! He’ll be there. So will Mingyu.” Seungcheol told Wonwoo.

Wonwoo felt heat threaten to rise to his cheeks.

“Great! We can head over after shift!”

Which is how Wonwoo found himself outside the next day, standing behind the fence of the outdoor volleyball court. The wind was nippy today and the sun was providing no warmth.

“Whoa, whoa, look out!”

“You can do it Minghao!”

“You can do it Vernon!”

“Yah! What kind of serve was that?!”

“Whoa, Wonwoo you’re watching sports?”

Wonwoo also hated how noisy it was.

“Seungcheol- _hyung_ invited me.” Wonwoo told Soonyoung. “Why are you even here?” He looked at the mass of people next to him. “Why are all these people here?”

Seungkwan, who Wonwoo learned was on the volleyball team, was there yelling at every mistake the fraternity brothers made. He had introduced Wonwoo to Chan, who was Vernon’s roommate, and Seokmin, his older brother. Jun was also there, cheering on Minghao, and making Wonwoo suspicious as to what their relationship was.

There were also dozens of other people, friends of Greek life were also on the sidelines. Most of them had flags with all the different colors of the organizations, some had signs supporting their friends, and many of them-

“Mingyu! I love you!” A few sorority girls and even two guys were holding pink and blue signs with Mingyu’s name. One of them even had a large cardboard cutout of his face.

“And why are they acting like this is a concert?” Wonwoo had his camera out and turned it to capture the ridiculousness.

“They should be cheering for me.” Minghao agreed, he had jogged over and was looking for something.

Jun appeared, holding out a water bottle over the fence. “I was cheering.”

Minghao took it gratefully. “I heard.” He leaned back and nodded his head at Mingyu. “He’s got all the love, but doesn’t give any.”

They watched as Mingyu spiked the ball and the crowd cheered.

“Gyu-bie doesn’t love?” Soonyoung asked. His orange head was tucked under a beanie and his mouth was stopped halfway to eating a muffin Wonwoo had brought him from the coffee shop.

“He’s been like that since we were kids.” Minghao said. “I’ve never seen him with someone longer than a couple of weeks.”

“But he’s such a good guy!” Soonyoung cried, jerking his hand quickly, making part of the muffin crumble off.

“He is...And he isn’t.”

“What do you mean?” Wonwoo broke in to the conversation.

“He’s great, everyone loves him. But guys like that always have something they’re hiding.” Minghao pushed his wire glasses up his face. Even on a volleyball court he had to look fashionable. “I’ve known him for almost seven years now. I’ve never once heard him say I love you to anyone. Not even me, his best friend.”

Wonwoo turned to look back at the court. He watched the tall, handsome boy who was loved making calls to the other players. If Minghao was telling Wonwoo this, maybe it was a warning. Maybe he should stop whatever small spark they had before it blew up.

“Doesn’t that just mean you guys aren’t close?”

Oops.

Minghao gave Wonwoo a hurt look. “We’re very close!” He snapped. “I see you’ve fallen for his trap.” Wonwoo froze. “If I were you, I’d take this as a helpful tip. Not everything is as it appears on camera.” He nodded to the object in Wonwoo’s hands.

“Hey, hey let’s all calm down.” Soonyoung stepped between them, his muffin still clutched in his hand but squished. “You can’t blame Wonwoo for being a little _curious_.” He directed the last word at Minghao and Wonwoo tilted his head in confusion.

After Minghao returned back to the court, Mingyu ran over to the sidelines for his break.

Wonwoo watched as he greeted the group of people who had cheered him on. Many of them offered him water bottles, a jacket for the cold, and snacks. He refused them all and Wonwoo realized the younger was making his way to him.

“Hey! Seungcheol- _hyung_ told me you were coming. Thank you for cheering us on!” There was sweat dripping down his neck and disappearing into the v-neck t-shirt he wore. Wonwoo couldn’t help but watch.

“You’re welcome.” He snapped himself out of it.“I uh,” He turned and grabbed the other paper coffee cup that he’d brought. “I got you this. If you want it. You like caramel, right?”

Mingyu took the mug, Wonwoo noticing the frat boy’s warm fingers lingering on Wonwoo’s cold ones longer than normal. “You got this just for me?” He asked.

Wonwoo took a sip of his own coffee. “Yeah. I thought since it was cold…”

“Thank you _hyung_!” He took a sip and laughed. “It got cold though.”

Wonwoo smiled. “Because it took you so long to take a break. Mine is still warm.” He boasted.

“Really? Can I try?”

Before Wonwoo could respond, Mingyu grabbed Wonwoo’s hand that held his own coffee cup and with Wonwoo’s hand held in his, Mingyu brought the mug to his lips and drank.

After taking a sip, Mingyu released his hand and wiped his mouth.

“You’re right, it is still warm! Pumpkin spice?”

Wonwoo’s face was suddenly no longer cold as he couldn’t stop the blush from forming.

Mingyu noticed the camera in Wonwoo’s hands. He smiled into it. “Thank you Wonwoo- _hyung_ for bringing me a delicious treat and cheering me on.” For the second time, Mingyu took his camera. “Can I borrow Nick for a second?”

“Wait, what are you-uh…”

Wonwoo liked being behind the camera. That’s why he was always filming. The buttons were familiar and he liked being in control of what was captured. But when he was in front of the lense, he had no idea what to do.

Mingyu had the camera pointed at Wonwoo. “See everyone?” Mingyu spoke to the non-existent audience that would watch whatever he was filming. “This cute coffee addict brought me coffee to share his love of caffeine.”

Wonwoo was already flustered and Mingyu’s words were not helping. He reached his hands out to take his camera back but Mingyu avoided him.

“No, no.” He said. “You’re always behind the camera, it’s time to see what the boy behind the camera is hiding.”

_Guys like that always have something they’re hiding._

Wonwoo peered up at Minghao who was on the court but looking in their direction.

“Only if you’re up for the challenge.”

 

“Bam, please sit still. Bam sit. Bamnamu!”

Seokmin stood as the dog took off running in the direction of the person approaching. His phone dinged, notifying him of a new message.

 _Congratulations on your fifth REVEAL! You are now allowed to reveal your identity including your goal. You can read your common members with_ **_Gentle Stone_ ** _in this chart here:_

Seokmin frowned as he opened the chart and found he and this person had no common member identities.

“What are you doing here?” The person was petting Bam as Seokmin approached.

 **_Gentle Stone_ ** didn’t look very gentle. He was a tall, lumbering guy with chocolate colored hair and broad shoulders. The stone part fit, as Seokmin noticed the guy’s muscles through his tight leather jacket.

“ **_Big Gem_ **?” The guy asked.

Seokmin nodded.

“Nice to meet you.” He stood and held out a hand. “I’m Mingyu.”

“Seokmin.” The guy looked familiar. He vaguely remembered the tall boy at the volleyball game yesterday that had been on the same team as Chan’s roommate.

“This is Bam?” Mingyu bent down again to ruffle the dog’s brown fur.

“Short for Bamnamu.” He said. “It means-”

“Chestnut.” Mingyu nodded. “I’m from Korea too.”

They sat down on a bench under a large tree. The campus was empty as most of the students were still enjoying their fall break.

“Ah, I see.” Seokmin said. “He’s a bichon poodle.” He added, noticing Mingyu cooing at the dog.

“They let you keep a dog in your dorm?”

Seokmin fiddled with the hem of his hoodie. “He’s an emotional support pet.”

He expected Mingyu to just nod but the other guy pressed on. “It’s hard, isn’t it.”

Seokmin looked at the tall boy in surprise.

“Being away from home, being somewhere unfamiliar.”

Seokmin looked down at Bam. He had gotten the dog last year, when he entered college. His mom had thought it was a good idea and claimed that it would keep him company since Chan hadn’t been there.

“It’s pretty hard sometimes, yeah.” He sighed. “This app isn’t helping either.” He stiffened. “Not that meeting you is bad or anything. I mean like you seem nice and…”

“It’s okay.” Mingyu chuckled. Bam had jumped up onto the bench and had placed his head on Mingyu’s lap. “This app is all kinds of difficult.” He pulled something out of his pocket. “But it did task me with getting these.” He handed a bag of dog treats over to Seokmin.

“Thank you.” Seokmin took them gratefully. “You didn’t have to…”

Mingyu shrugged. “I love dogs. I don’t mind.” He pet Bam and gave him a treat.

“Yeah, I’ve been having trouble trying to figure out what the app wants.”

“So you agree.” Mingyu noted.

“Huh?”

“It’s just everyone else I’ve met on the app also agrees, there’s some underlying end goal for this C person. Satisfaction is so vague.”

“I mean it’s easy for them.” Seokmin looked out at the trees. Many of them had changed color and some even were shedding their leaves. “They hide behind a screen and control everything.”

“Kind of like a camera man.” Mingyu said. Seokmin noticed the other was looking at the dog, but his mind was elsewhere.

“I think you mean a producer.”

“Same difference.”

They sat in silence for a couple of minutes.

“You know,” Mingyu finally said after a while. “Something I don’t understand about this app is, why us?”

“What do you mean?”

“Why _us_?” He gestured. “And why the other 11 people in this project? There are plenty of people on this campus that are in search of satisfaction.”

“If I remember correctly, the app said we had a specific skill that will help this project succeed?”

“A skill?” Mingyu grunted, a noise of frustration. “If this app wanted us to succeed sooner it wouldn’t be so vague.” He shook his head. “This is a nightmare.”

“Or a night sky-mare.” Seokmin tried for a pun.

Mingyu rolled his eyes but grinned. “I see your skill isn’t humor.”

Seokmin laughed. “You got me.” He reached over and scratched Bam’s ears. “I don’t think this app is entirely bad, though. I’ve met some cool people and even gained a little confidence to join a club.” It was true. Since getting the app, Seokmin found his time at college to be busier. It was good because it kept his mind from worrying.

“Congrats, kid.” Seokmin was sure they were the same age but ignored it. “Meanwhile, I feel like I’m straying further and further away from my goal.” Mingyu placed his head in his hands. “How am I supposed to ‘understand which love is real’ if I don’t even understand what that means!?”

Seokmin briefly recalled Mingyu talking to someone yesterday near him. He had been holding a camera, and Seokmin realized that he had met that person at the last REVEAL. He also understood Mingyu’s earlier reference to camera men.

“I think you’ll understand with time.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bam is from this episode of going seventeen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXCVRzUQpPg  
> I forgot about Coco though (This episode of weekly idol https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J81twrungYg) so well...we get Bam.
> 
> What do you guys think, should the boy behind the camera give up the frat boy? 
> 
> Thank you for reading! ^_^


	9. Nightmare Under the Night Sky

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I'm a liar but I REALLY wanted to share this chapter with you guys as soon as I finished it, because it's important.
> 
> WARNING: Mentions of homophobia in this chapter and some minor violence. (Nothing extreme! In this house we accept all forms of love! #loveislove <3)
> 
> Vernon finally experiences what it feels like to be scared. Seungkwan has never been more scared in his life.

“I’m surprised, you’re the first one I’ve met who wasn’t scared about this whole thing.”

“What’s there to be scared about? It’s just a game.”

Vernon enjoyed games. When he discovered the Night Sky app, he treated it like a role playing game. Sure, there were real life consequences, but most of the time Vernon saw them as positive. Through the app, he met some interesting people. 

Like the person he was talking to now.

_ Congratulations on your fourth REVEAL! You are now allowed to reveal your identity including your goal. You are meeting  _ **_Elegant Purpose, aka Joshua Hong_ ** **_._ **

Joshua’s REVEAL was slightly different, Vernon noticed. There was no chart that showed him their common members. Most people would be unsettled by how off kilter the interactions with Joshua were, but not Vernon. 

Especially after Vernon met him. 

The fourth year boy fit his name,  **_Elegant Purpose_ ** . He carried himself in a way that was graceful and as if everything around him had important meaning to it. However, he wasn’t arrogant like Vernon had expected him to be. He had a presence that Vernon found similar to his own; calming and without concern.

“Interesting that you call it a game.” Joshua raised an eyebrow, the Joker costume he was wearing made him look a little more intimidating.

It was Halloween weekend, which meant college campuses everywhere were holding parties. Girls dressed in scantily clad clothing with cat ears to pass for their costumes as others threw on whatever they had last minute. 

Vernon himself didn’t realize people in college dressed up so he had found a red and white striped shirt in his closet, a matching beanie, and a pair of glasses then called himself Waldo. 

The Gamma Alpha Upsilon house was full tonight. Members of other Greek organizations and even people that weren’t in Greek life filled the rooms, hallways, and staircases. Music with heavy bass shook the house and the smell of alcohol was strong.

“Joshua- _ hyung _ , you don’t seem like the party type to me.” Vernon noted, taking a sip of his drink.

“No?” He asked. “I’m part of Tau Pi, though.”

Vernon almost did a spit take. “ _ You’re _ part of Theater Pi?”

“Is that what everyone calls us?” Joshua the Joker laughed. “Yeah, my friends are in it.” He nodded at the people that were crowded around the karaoke machine. A guy dressed as a zombie screamed into the microphone. Vernon realized it was the same guy who had tried to get him to join Tau Pi at the activities fair.

“That guy is your friend?” 

“Who, Jeonghan?” Joshua took a sip from his own drink, the red paint on his face transferring to the cup. “Yeah, he’s a character isn’t he.”

Vernon looked around the room some more. He spotted Mingyu and Minghao, dressed as Edward Scissorhands and Jack Skellington respectively. Many people kept coming up to them, trying to dance with Mingyu, but Mingyu only seemed interested in the guy dressed in a dracula costume. 

Chan was also there, trying to show Seokmin how to play beer pong. Vernon was surprised the worried boy had even agreed to come to the party. He also suspected they picked each other’s costumes out as Seokmin was Pennywise, the scary clown from that one movie, and Chan was a very cute rendition of Pikachu. 

Everyone was in a good mood, mostly from the alcohol, but also because it was Halloween, the one day out of the year everyone could put on a different identity. 

“You seem very relaxed.” Joshua told him.

“I’m not the type to make a big fuss about anything.”

“Is that why the app doesn’t scare you?”

Vernon didn’t know if they were supposed to be talking about the app in such a public setting, but no one was listening to their conversation.

He shrugged. “I guess. I’ve always been like this though.”

It was true. Vernon never had things like test anxiety, stage fright, or even any major fights with his family or friends. When misfortune struck him, he took it well by saying there are better days. He honestly believed life was too short to feel a lot of concern or fear.

Which in itself scared him.

Was he just emotionless?

He discovered though, he wasn’t emotionless. A certain person had entered his life recently that made him start to feel more concern.

Vernon’s phone rang. 

Speaking of the certain person.

He gestured to Joshua that he was going to go outside to take the call.

“Hey, Seungkwan.” Vernon smiled, answering the phone and stepping out into the cold night.

Ever since they met, the two had been hanging out a lot more often. Vernon found he liked Seungkwan’s nagging and silly humor. They were quite the opposite, but Vernon liked that about them. He also liked showing Seungkwan new things whenever the other boy was upset. They often snuck away to the spot at the top of the science building Vernon had taken him the first time they met.

“V-Vernon?” Seungkwan’s voice sounded shaky.

It was so cold outside Vernon could see his breath. The Halloween night was cloudy and the moon looked like a blur behind it. Vernon figured Seungkwan was on his way to the party.

“What’s up? Are you on your way?”

“Vernon…” The wind faded Seungkwan’s voice out a bit, but that didn’t stop Vernon from recognizing the fear in it.

“Seungkwan?” Vernon felt himself tense. 

“Vernon...please.”

There was yelling in the background.

“ _ Seungkwan get out of there and explain yourself! _ ”

“ _ Appa leave him alone! You told me you were coming here to watch me give my presentation! _ ”

“ _ So-jeong that’s enough! _ ”

Vernon froze. Seungkwan had told Vernon about his father and how much pressure he put on Seungkwan. He told him of the way he was raised to protect his mother and sister.

If he understood the angry Korean words in the background then…

“Seungkwan? Who’s there? Where are you?” Vernon felt his heart start to race. Is this what it felt like to be scared?

A loud noise on the other side of the phone made Vernon flinch.

Rustling noises and yells came through the phone’s speaker before it cut off.

Vernon stared down at his phone. A message popped up.

_ You have a new task. Please click here for your next task. _

Vernon didn’t have time for the app’s bullshit but opened the task.

_ Go to him. _

In Vernon’s shock, he didn’t hear Joshua come up behind him. 

“Hey, is everything okay?”

“No.” Vernon said, putting his phone in his pocket. “This app is a nightmare.” 

And he took off running.

 

Seungkwan’s Halloween had started off good.

He had a shift in the coffee shop where Wonwoo taught him that if he added a scoop of pumpkin ice cream to his pumpkin latte it would be more creamy. Seungkwan also believed Wonwoo was hyped up on caffeine because the coffee addict also proceeded to add a shot of espresso to the mix after having just finished a cappuccino.  

Later in the day he had grabbed dinner with Seokmin, Chan and Vernon and then they all promised they’d meet up at the party later.

When Seungkwan had returned to his dorm room, he knew he’d have to break that promise.

The bathroom door slammed open and his father ripped his phone out of his hand, throwing it to the side. He hauled Seungkwan to his feet and placed him back into the main part of his dorm room.

“EXPLAIN YOURSELF.” His father yelled in angry Korean.

“He doesn’t have to explain anything to you,  _ appa _ .” So-jeong sat on Seungkwan’s bed with one leg dangling off the edge and the other folded under her. “You lied to me.”

So-jeong had arrived in America a few days prior. Her office had a big presentation to give in America and it happened to be near Seungkwan’s university. So she arranged to visit Seungkwan whenever she was free.

Today, on Halloween, Seungkwan was going to take So-jeong to the party so she could meet his friends, but then a nightmare had shown up with her.

“Shut up So-jeong. Sit there and don’t speak.” His father released Seungkwan only to pull out his phone and show him a picture. “ _ EXPLAIN THIS _ .”

Seungkwan’s already racing heart nearly exploded. 

The picture was taken from far away and probably with a phone because of the terrible quality. But there was no mistaken Seungkwan was in the picture, sitting in the spot on top of the science building that he had come to love. One would’ve guessed his father was angry that Seungkwan was doing something so dangerous and prohibited. But no, his father clearly wanted Seungkwan to not only explain why he was on the roof, but why Seungkwan’s head was resting on another boy’s shoulder, and why that boy was nuzzling his face in Seungkwan’s hair.

The worst part was, Seungkwan already knew what the picture was and why his father was here.

_ You have a new task. Please click here for your next task. _

_ Be your true self for once. _

This picture had come as an attachment, and there was no doubt C had taken it. 

A week ago he had been video chatting with his mother, she had been asking how college was and if he had made friends. She knew Seungkwan liked boys, and she was accepting of it, so when Seungkwan told her about his crush on Vernon she cried with joy. His sisters also knew and they were accepting. Seungkwan’s father did not know, because he was not accepting of anything Seungkwan did.

His mother had told Seungkwan that he should tell his father the truth, that he couldn’t hurt Seungkwan now that he was all the way in America.

So after Seungkwan got the task, and after hours of pacing and pondering, he decided to text his father. He was tired of having to pretend to be someone he wasn’t for this man.

What Seungkwan didn’t realize, was that the picture had sent as an attachment when he sent the text to his father.

Seungkwan had a suspicion that the Night Sky app had a hand in that.

“I...I told you that I like boys.” Seungkwan couldn’t believe he was saying this to his father.

“ _ Don’t _ say that.” His father grabbed Seungkwan’s shirt again. Seungkwan’s father never physically hurt his family, but Seungkwan believed that things always could change.

A knock on the door made everyone freeze. 

“Who the  _ fuck _ is that?” His father had a wild look in his eye.

The door flew open and Seungkwan wanted to cry.

Vernon stood in the doorway, out of breath with his cheeks red from the cold. The glasses he wore for his costume was sliding off his face. A boy was behind him dressed in a scary purple and green.

“HEY!” Vernon yelled, storming into the room. Seungkwan had never seen the other so worked up before. Heck, he hadn’t even heard Vernon raise his voice once. “Get your hands off of him!”

Seungkwan’s father released Seungkwan only to turn towards Vernon.

“Seungkwan-ah, is this the asshole that made you believe you like boys?” He asked in Korean. “He looks like a rat dressed as a candy cane.”

“I can understand Korean, sir.” Vernon answered in the language.

His father, taken aback, narrowed his eyes. “Get out of here. This is not your business.”

“Yes it is his business!” Seungkwan ran to stand in between Vernon and his father. Seeing Vernon get angry for him somehow gave him confidence. “I’m gay  _ appa _ ! I like boys! There are plenty of people that are homosexual and there’s nothing wrong with it!”

“Shut up.” His father grit his teeth.

“You can’t control me anymore!” Seungkwan cried he was shaking and gosh, was that a tear running down the corner of his eye? He felt pathetic and could barely process what he was saying, but he had to do this. “I-I’m of age now! I can make my own decisions!”

“DISAPPOINTMENT!” His father screamed. “You’re a disappointment to the Boo family!” His raised a fist and Seungkwan saw a flash of long hair.

So-jeong had grabbed her father’s arm.

“ _ Appa _ , STOP!” She was breathing heavy, tears also streaming down her face. 

“So-jeong let go!”

“NO!” She sobbed, her grip tightening. “You listen to me! Seungkwan has dealt with enough of your harassment! He has protected us from you all his life and now it’s my time to protect him.” She looked back at her younger brother, sadness in her eyes. “I’m  _ not _ going to let you rule over his life thousands of miles away. He is going to love who he wants and you can’t say anything about that.”

_ Slap. _ .

It happened so fast Seungkwan blinked and suddenly the whole room went silent.

So-jeong and Seungkwan were pressed against each other in a tight hug. He was confused how that was possible seeing as she had just been standing in front of his father seconds ago.

Seungkwan saw a pair of broken glasses on the ground and looked up in horror to see Vernon standing, facing his father where So-jeong had just been standing. His cheek was red and starting to swell. Vernon had pushed So-jeong out of the way and took the hit.

Even Seungkwan’s father looked shocked. He stepped back, as if realizing what he had done.

Seungkwan was furious, he ran over to his night stand, pulled out an envelope filled with cash and thrust it at his father. “GET OUT!” He pushed him towards the door, away from Vernon and So-jeong. “GET OUT NOW! TAKE MY MONEY AND NEVER COME BACK. DON’T EVEN THINK ABOUT GOING HOME TO MOM OR TO JIN-SEOL! GET OUT AND NEVER COME BACK!” He shoved his father out into the hallway.

His father swung back around, clutching the the money in his hands. “Seungkwan-ah I-” He didn’t finish his sentence. He looked down at the envelope and then back at his son whose face was tear streaked and red with anger. “You are a disappointment to me. One day you’ll be sorry for those words, but you have your wish. I will never see you again.”

And then he was gone.

Seungkwan collapsed onto the ground, dry heaving and blubbering.

So-jeong came to pull him back into the room and they clung together on the ground sobbing. 

Vernon and the other boy, Joshua, silently cleaned up the mess Seungkwan’s father had made. The broken pieces of Vernon’s glasses were cleaned and Seungkwan’s phone retrieved.

After a long time they finally calmed down. So-jeong pulled back from Seungkwan.

“I’m sorry I brought him here.” She looked into her brother’s eyes. “And I’m  _ so _ sorry he touched you.” She directed her apology to Vernon.

Vernon sat in Seungkwan’s desk chair holding an ice pack to his cheek. “It’s okay.” He said, and Seungkwan hated what Vernon was saying;  _ it’s okay because it’s not you guys _ .

So-jeong stood slowly and brushed herself off. Seungkwan stood with her.

“I’m going to go now.” She sniffled. “Don’t worry, I’m going to tell mom everything and then we’re going to move.”

“How?” Seungkwan’s family didn’t have much money. He couldn’t offer anything either seeing as he just gave it all away to the good for nothing asshole. 

“I wanted to tell you this as a surprise, but well…” So-jeong sighed. “I graduated cosmetology school. After this presentation and when I go back home I’m quitting this job. I got a job in Seoul and I’m taking mom with me. I was going to tell dad but now…”

Seungkwan hugged his older sister tightly. “That’s great news, So-jeong.” 

She hugged him back. “I’ll be sure to send some money over. I’ll tell Jin-seol everything too.” She kissed the top of his head. “And don’t say no. You’ve protected all of us long enough, it’s our turn to protect you.”

Seungkwan squeezed her hand. “Thank you, sis.”

So-jeong leaned into his ear in a whisper. “You be good to him.” Seungkwan looked at Vernon. His eyes were on Seungkwan’s, searching. “He seems like someone who can help you stay relaxed.”

So-jeong left, Joshua following her to help her get a taxi to a hotel.

Finally Seungkwan and Vernon were alone in the dorm room. Seungkwan looked at Vernon and his heart broke. The other boy looked tired. His hair disheveled from his hat, his face swollen, and his whole body rigged. He had never seen Vernon in so much pain.

Seungkwan had no idea what to say to him. He feared if he spoke he’d make it worse.

Vernon broke the silence first. He placed the ice pack down and let out a long sigh of relief. “You’re something else, you know?”

“What?” Seungkwan stood frozen, realizing how Vernon probably hated him now. He had wanted Vernon to help him, instead he had gotten Vernon hurt.

But there was a soft grin on the other boy’s face.

“All my life, I’ve never felt scared for someone else, not even myself.” Vernon got up from the chair. “I’ve never had my heart race and I’ve never felt so worked up before.” He stood in front of Seungkwan now. “But then I met you.”

Seungkwan was tired of his own heart racing today. But Vernon’s words made it race a little bit differently. “I-”

Vernon shook his head. “Let me finish.” He took Seungkwan’s hands in his.

Seungkwan stared down at them but nodded.

“I know we haven’t known each other very long, but ever since I took you up to that spot-our spot, I loved seeing you calm. I love taking away your uneasiness and your hurt.”

“But that doesn’t mean you have to get hurt for me!” He raised his head. All he saw in Vernon’s eyes was affection.

“No it doesn’t.” He admitted. “But I would do it if it meant I get to see the look on your face when you’re relaxed.”

Seungkwan remembered the picture of the two of them. His face had looked peaceful.

“You might regret saying that.” Seungkwan whispered, he released Vernon’s hands only to bring his own up to the other boy’s face. He caressed the swelling cheek lightly. “You might regret meeting me.”

Vernon nuzzled his face into Seungkwan’s touch. “I don’t think that will happen.”

“Not even if I do this?”

Seungkwan brought his lips to the other’s. He didn’t know what had come over him, but he was genuinely pleased when Vernon didn’t pull away and kissed him back.

They stayed like that, Seungkwan cupping Vernon’s face and Vernon wrapping his arms around Seungkwan’s waist.

Finally they pulled away, not letting each other go.

“Seungkwan,” Vernon’s lips were parted slightly and wet from their kiss. “Will you go on a date with me?”

Seungkwan giggled. “I think I know just the spot.” 

They kissed again but stopped when someone knocked and cleared their throat.

“Uh, I don’t mean to interrupt.” It was Joshua. “I just wanted to come tell you your sister was sent off safely.”

Seungkwan smiled at Vernon and finally released his face. 

“Thank you  _ hyung _ .” He smiled gratefully.

“Seungkwan, can I ask you a question?” Joshua’s face looked puzzled, which was a funny look due to his joker makeup. “Did you send that message because of the app?”

Seungkwan raised his eyebrows in surprise and looked over at Vernon. Joshua had been Seungkwan’s fourth REVEAL. Seungkwan knew Joshua wasn’t supposed to be asking this, especially not in front of Vernon. Unless…

“The app?” Vernon’s eyes grew large. “You have the Night Sky app too?”

Seungkwan’s mouth dropped open. “You...you have it too!?” He blinked in surprise. “Wait, wait a minute. Joshua- _ hyung _ shouldn’t you not be doing this?” He looked at Vernon. “Wait you knew Joshua had the app?”

“He was my fourth REVEAL.” Vernon furrowed his eyebrows.

“He was  _ my _ fourth REVEAL!” Seungkwan tilted his head. “ _ Hyung _ , what’s going on?”

Joshua walked further into the room and looked out Seungkwan’s window.

“I was both of your fourth REVEALs.” He said.

“How is that even possible? Everyone meets only one other person at a time.”

Joshua shook his head. “Not all the time, there are flaws in the schedule. That’s why my chart won’t appear to any of you.”

“Huh?”

“There are flaws in the schedule where some weeks some members won’t get to meet others. I can’t explain why, I just know.”

“What?” Vernon asked. 

“Vernon, during the third REVEAL you and I were skipped over so we could meet as a REVEAL this time around. This most recent REVEAL was your fourth but for everyone else it was their fifth.

Seungkwan knew he was telling the truth. He had discovered Wonwoo was a part of the app as his fifth REVEAL.

“I can’t tell you why we were skipped, but it happened.” Joshua said.

“This app truly is a nightmare. How much longer is this going to go on?” Vernon muttered.

“How-how do you know all of this?” Seungkwan agreed with Vernon.

Joshua turned to look at both of them. His face looked in pain.

“Because,” He said. “During my first REVEAL, I met C.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew, that was intense right? I'm sorry for the cliffhanger. I'm sorry I made Boo's father an asshole. So-jeong is a queen and a great sibling. Finally Verkwan is realllllll!!!!
> 
> I hope this chapter was interesting, I tried my best with the intense scene and to make their feelings as genuine as possible. 
> 
> Thank you for the kudos, comments, and bookmarks! I love hearing your kind words and responding! <3


	10. How Much Longer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I bet you're wondering why this fic is rated M when nothing has happened yet...Well I'm sorry nothing really happens in this chapter but there are some implications ;) (I'm the worst I know)
> 
> ALSO: I'm not very confident about this chapter (see my end notes for why) but I really want to keep the story moving along.
> 
> Anyways, Wonwoo is frustrated with the app, Minghao is frustrated with Jun, and Jeonghan...well he's about to be frustrated.

“You don’t mind, do you?”

“As long as you got permission.”

“Okay, then first, how would you describe the Night Sky app?”

“Am I allowed to curse on camera?”

Wonwoo laughed.

After getting permission from C to have the app as his topic, Wonwoo interviewed everyone he had a REVEAL with. Honestly, he was surprised that he was allowed to make his documentary on Night Sky given its secrecy. There was a lot of negotiation that had to be done but after C finally lay down some rules, Wonwoo had a documentary to film.

“At first I thought of it like a game. But a few weeks ago I discovered that it’s a bit of a nightmare.”

“How so?” Wonwoo asked.

Vernon, the freshman who Wonwoo now knew was Seungkwan’s boyfriend, sighed. He proceeded to tell the story of halloween night.

Every so often Wonwoo could see a small look of pain in the younger boy’s face as he recalled the events that happened.

“In a way I’m grateful to the app because I think I understand my end goal.” Vernon finished up.

“Which is what?”

“To feel fear.” He shivered but Wonwoo didn’t think it was from the November air. “But then again, I hate the app for making Seungkwan do something he clearly knew would end badly.” There was anger in the usually calm boy’s eyes.

“So Seungkwan and you were never supposed to meet through the app.” Wonwoo clarified. “And you found this information out how?”

Vernon’s eyes met his own. “I’m sorry, I can’t tell you.”

“I see.” He couldn’t stop the bitterness in his tone. “And what about the consequences? Surely C must know.”

“They do. I’m also not allowed to tell you the consequences.” _And I don’t think you want to know_. His words seemed to suggest.

Wonwoo was starting to feel frustrated. All his life he thought he was stable. He had a good family, enough money to attend college and live comfortably, and even knew what he wanted to do after college.

But now the Night Sky app was challenging that.

In some ways he was grateful. The stability his life provided often led to monotonous routine, and Wonwoo admit that he sometimes craved change. This app gave him change. If he never started filming his favorite locations and moments he wouldn’t have the slightest clue what direction he wanted to go for his documentary. If he hadn’t gone to the party he would’ve never seen Mingyu again after the activities fair.

“This isn’t fair.” Wonwoo shut the camera off and sat down opposite Vernon on the picnic table they were at. It was brisk and Wonwoo slightly regretted filming outside. He pulled his jacket closer around him. “We can’t tell each other everything, we have to listen to what the damn thing says, people are getting _hurt_.”

Vernon sat silently, watching his _hyung_.

“I’m tired of this thing dictating my life.”

“I know it’s frustrating at times.” The dirty-blonde haired boy said. “And call me crazy, but I think it has good intentions.”

“But how much longer?” Wonwoo asked, realizing how worked up he was. “How much longer do I have to go not understanding?”

 _Do you ever hate not knowing?_ Seungcheol’s words surfaced in Wonwoo’s mind.

Wonwoo cleared his throat. “I’m sorry.” He told Vernon. “I didn’t mean to yell.”

“It’s okay.” Vernon tugged his hoodie tighter. Wonwoo noticed it read SKUA volleyball. “I think you have every right to be upset with it. I think it just means there’s something that you care about that you don’t want involved in this mess.”

Wonwoo’s lips parted in surprise. Vernon was right. During their conversation one person crossed his mind, _Mingyu_.

He was the most unstable thing Wonwoo had come across in his twenty-one years of life. Mingyu flirted with Wonwoo but they never went further than that. He could have anyone he wanted but Wonwoo noticed he rejected everyone else. Wonwoo didn’t know why he was still so infatuated with the boy.

But that didn’t stop him from caring. It didn’t stop his mind from thinking about him from time to time. Didn’t stop him from blushing at his compliments, laughing at his jokes, and thinking about the next time they would meet.

When would Mingyu start caring about him seriously?

How much longer?

 

“How much longer?”

“I’m close.”

Jun’s eyes were closed, face contorted with pleasure.

Minghao thought the other looked beautiful. His dark hair, plastered with sweat, stuck to his forehead. Minghao loved seeing the older man like this. His tall frame was taut with muscles from years of dancing and he was crumbling at Minghao’s touch.

But as Minghao watched Jun he knew this would end.

“Oh-okay…” Jun finally gasped.

Minghao pulled his hands and mouth away slowly.

They had done this countless times before.

When Jun first brought Minghao back to his room Minghao had every intent at going all the way. He thought they’d be a one night stand, maybe even friends with benefits.

But Minghao learned quickly, Jun started things he could never finish.

Like today. They had made out, gotten each other mostly naked, and Minghao even gave Jun head. But, Jun never let him finish the task.

In hindsight, Minghao could’ve called off whatever they had going on. But he didn’t.

Especially not when the older boy snuggled into his side after every time, like was doing currently.

Minghao supposed Jun was scared. Not innocent though, because Jun never hesitated to get Minghao off and he finished that task without fail. However Minghao was never allowed to pleasure Jun to the point of breaking.

“I’m sorry.” Minghao heard Jun mumble into his ribcage.

“It’s okay.” He responded. “Honestly I feel like you’re the one who’s in more pain.”

Jun shook his head and his hair tickled Minghao’s bare chest. “It’s my own fault.”

They lay there in silence for a couple of minutes. Finally Minghao spoke.

“Jun, what are we?”

Minghao felt the other stiffen, and not in a sexy way.

“F-friends?”

“I don’t think friends do this.”

“With restricted benefits?”

“Is that all you want us to be?”

Jun shifted and sat up, facing Minghao. Minghao couldn’t read the expression on his face. “That’s all we can be....”

Before Minghao could protest Jun continued.

“We don’t even know each other!” He blurted. Minghao flinched at the words. “We... _I_ made the decision to start this without really thinking about it.”

“Do you do this with everyone you sleep with?”

An offended look crossed the older boy’s face. “You’re...the only one I sleep with.”

Minghao raised his eyebrows. “Let me get this straight. Over the past few months I’m the only one you’ve been having sex with…” He paused. “Who am I kidding, we haven’t even had proper sex.” And they hadn’t. Minghao had respected Jun each time he wanted to stop.

The silence that followed was awkward and the tense feeling made Minghao uncomfortable.

“Are you mad at me?” Jun's eyes were large with worry.

“No,” He wasn’t lying. “Just trying to understand.You don’t want to finish sex with me, you don’t want a relationship with me, and we can’t even tell our friends about this.”

Minghao had wanted to tell Mingyu about him and Jun for a while. He wanted someone to rant to about how cute the other got whenever they interacted. Mostly, he wanted someone to convince him that Jun was probably just messing with him. He wanted someone to tell him to stop messing around. But he respected Jun's wish to keep what they had a secret.

“I never said I didn’t want a relationship...I said we can’t-”

“And why not!?!” Minghao demanded, his raised voice startling Jun. “I’m tired of hiding behind everyone’s back! I can’t flirt with you like I want to, I can’t touch you without fear I’m doing something wrong, and forgive me if I’m being selfish, but I can’t stand it.”

“Then why do _you_ stay?” Jun asked back, equally angry.

Minghao was startled, but he wasn’t going to back down. “Because I can’t stop thinking about you." He hated how he sounded, like some cheesy chick flick. But he meant his words. "And I know you said we hardly know each other, but I want to know more about you."

“I’m sorry…” His voice was almost a whisper. “I just don’t think I’m ready…”

Suddenly Minghao was reminded of a distant memory.

_I don’t think I’m ready._

_I’m not asking you to marry me. I just want to be your friend, is that too much to ask?_

“You...are you afraid to love?” Minghao asked, the memory of the conversation he had with Mingyu when they were fourteen years old played in his head.

Jun pulled the sheets around him as if Minghao could read him. He never looked more vulnerable. “I’m afraid to finish.”

Minghao frowned. This was a little different than Mingyu.

“I’m afraid of endings I guess.” He shuddered and the sheets moved with him. Minghao wanted nothing more than to reach out and hug Jun to make him warm, but he resisted.  “That’s why I never want to you know…” He never allowed himself to cum in front of Minghao.

Minghao nodded but didn’t say anything.

“I’m not bold enough to do things like this.” Jun continued. “But you’re the first person I took a chance with. I wanted to see what it was like to be brave enough to hold a relationship like this...and to be honest I thought it would end. But then I got scared because it kept going...I wanted it to keep going.”

“Then...?” _Why can’t we be together?_ Minghao stopped himself. This was something beyond Jun being afraid to finish things. He didn’t quite understand, but he was sure of one thing. “I’ll wait.”

The boy wrapped in the blanket looked at him with scared eyes. “What?”

“We both went about this the wrong way. Almost sex that we thought would have no feelings and then we both accidentally fell.” Jun didn’t deny Minghao’s words. “I’ll wait.” Minghao repeated, finally reaching out to take the handsome boy in his arms.

To his surprise, Jun settled back and allowed the touch.

They stayed like that until Minghao could feel Jun’s breathing get heavier signalizing he was asleep.

Minghao brushed the dark strands of hair out of the older’s face. “I’ll wait.” He whispered once more. “But how much longer?”

 

 **_Clean Country:_ ** _I’m here. Where are you?_

Jeonghan closed his app and opened his front camera. He adjusted his hair under his floppy hat then went inside.

The school’s coffee shop was busy. It was late afternoon and many students were grabbing a quick bite to eat before they went off to clubs or getting a coffee to keep them warm in the brisk November cold.

There was no reply from the app so Jeonghan went to the counter to order.

“Hey, little dove.” A familiar voice greeted him when he approached the register. The nickname referencing the mascot of Tau Pi.

Jeonghan smiled. Seungcheol wore a blue snapback that matched his barista apron and a grin that made Jeonghan’s insides spin.

“I see you’ve come to visit me again.” Seungcheol’s voice held sweet happiness as he typed in the order Jeonghan gave every time he came to the shop.

“Actually,” Jeonghan handed him his student card for payment. Seungcheol rejected it and typed in his employee $5 discount. “I came to meet a friend.”

The barista raised an eyebrow.

“Don’t worry, they’re just a friend.” He took his card back.

"Are you coming to the beach over Thanksgiving break?" Seungcheol asked. Every Thanksgiving break, Seungcheol invited friends, mostly Gamma Alpha Upsilon brothers that didn't go home, to his aunt's beach house. His aunt was filthy rich and let Seungcheol use the house whenever he wanted. Jeonghan went on the vacation in past years instead of returning home to Korea because it wasn't worth the flight.

"I'll think about it." He blew Seungcheol a kiss and walked away to wait for his drink.

Jeonghan and Seungcheol had been an on and off thing for almost two years now. They’ve known each other for longer, both of their families were friendly and growing up they saw each other every now and then. It was only when they went to college, rushed separate fraternities, then had one drunken night together after their initiation that they decided they liked each other. They weren’t exclusive though and they never outright stated they were together.

Jeonghan considered Seungcheol a good flirt, fuck, and friend. He didn’t know if Seungcheol considered him more than that.

After finally receiving his iced caffe americano, he chose a seat in the back near the window where no one else was and waited.

The Night Sky app was a waste of time to Jeonghan. Every so often he got a task that made no sense to him but was easy to do; invite that kid to sing karaoke, write his theater midterm about someone important to him, take Seungcheol out on a date. Honestly he thought the app was mocking him. He didn’t feel as afraid of it as Seungcheol was when they had their REVEAL, or as freaked out when he had his first REVEAL with Seungkwan. Even Wonwoo, the level-headed film geek, seemed bothered by the app.

The only thing that bothered Jeonghan was his end goal.

 **_Clean Country:_ ** _Are you finally going to tell me what it means to ‘learn to be humble’?_

His end goal felt insulting. He was plenty humble, people even told him at times and these people loved him! They would never lie.

Jeonghan lifted his phone to type in the chat again, but someone had approached his table. “Jeonghan?”

He looked up at the person and slowly lowered his phone and drink. “Well hey there pretty. Sorry but that seat is taken.” He nodded at the empty chair.

The girl was persistent. She slid into the seat and slammed a piece of paper down on the table. Jeonghan picked it up. It was a pamphlet.

“Yoon Jeonghan, aka **_Clean Country_ **, nice to meet you. I’m C.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I wasn't very confident about this chapter because of the way I portrayed Junhao's relationship. There is more behind their story but I didn't want to give too much away.
> 
> Also, I'm sorry Jeonghan's part was so short. I wanted to give everyone a glimpse of the Jeongcheol relationship without moving things too fast either.
> 
> ANYWAYS, I promise the next chapter will have Meanie and make up for the lack of Meanie the past two chapters. Spoiler: A vacation is involved :)
> 
> Thank you for reading and for all of those that are new to the fic and have left nice comments or RT'd my fic on Twitter! I love you all and I'm happy you guys are enjoying! ^_^
> 
> P.S. Home5th win I'm crying T_T Keep streaming I love you fellow Carats <3


	11. Vacation All I Ever Wanted, Vacation Meant to Be Spent Alone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry...
> 
> On the bright side this is a long chapter!
> 
> Yeah...I'm sorry (just read it).

“Oh my god.” Wonwoo moaned.

“You like that?” Mingyu smiled down at him.

“Mhmm.” Wonwoo’s eyes rolled back.

“I’m glad.”

“Why did nobody tell me they made coffee _with boba_ !?!” Wonwoo was glowing with joy. Mingyu laughed at his _hyung_ as he took another sip from the drink and started dancing around the kitchen.

“Why would anyone mess with perfectly good bubble tea?” Soonyoung pouted, his dislike of coffee vocalized. “Plus it is too cold for iced drinks.”

“Soonyoung, you’re eating gelato.” Seungcheol pointed out.

“JIHOON BOUGHT IT FOR ME!” Soonyoung clutched the cup closer. He was sitting on a couch with a large blanket wrapped around himself. “What was I supposed to do waste it!?!”

“I only bought it for you because you forgot your wallet.” Jihoon rolled his eyes.

It was Thanksgiving break and that meant most of the international students went home with local friends because there was no point in returning home for a few days. For Mingyu, it meant he went to Seungcheol’s aunt’s beach house with a large group of others.

It started with the invitation extended to the brothers of Gamma Alpha Upsilon. Most of the brothers returned to their own homes so they didn’t come on the vacation which left  Mingyu and Minghao to be the only members of the Gamma that could go. Seungcheol told them they were allowed to invite anyone they wanted which meant Mingyu excitedly asked Wonwoo who of course had to bring Soonyoung along. But that in turn led to Jun and Jihoon also joining the party.

“Looks like the others are here!” Seungcheol announced to the house.

Two cars pulled up filled with more people.

Seungcheol also invited Seungkwan, the new guy at the coffee shop. Seungkwan brought his boyfriend Vernon, who Mingyu knew because he was rushing their fraternity, and Vernon brought his roommate Chan. Chan invited his older brother Seokmin. Seungcheol also invited Jeonghan and Joshua, two members of Tau Pi that Mingyu was surprised to find out were Seungcheol’s friends.

Needless to say, the vacation house was packed.

Once everyone was inside and introductions had been done they all crowded around the kitchen island to discuss the rooming situation.

“So, there are six rooms in this house.” Seungcheol explained, taking the lead. “One room has three single beds, two other rooms have two single beds, and the rest of them have queens. So some of you will have to sleep together…”

Jeonghan, who was leaning against the refrigerator, snickered. “I don’t think that will be a problem for some people.” His words were directed at Vernon who had his hand in Seungkwan’s back pocket and was whispering in the singer’s ear. Neither of them were paying attention to care.

“Not like that.” Seungcheol rolled his eyes. “ _You_ can sleep on the porch in the cold.”

They decided to make the decision random by having each person choose which room they wanted blindly.

Mingyu was the third to choose and found an empty room secluded on the top level of the house. It was decorated ocean blue and sand beige, like a typical beach house. One large bed sat in the center of the room under a painting of a seashell.

Smaller picture frames were scattered around the room. Mingyu set his stuff down on the bed and walked over to the wall where the door was. He picked up a picture off the side table. A little boy, whom Mingyu realized was a 10-year old Seungcheol, held a shovel and showed off his sand castle proudly.

The room must have belonged to Seungcheol whenever he stayed over.

Which must have meant-

_Wham!_

“Aw!” Mingyu felt a sharp pain at the back of his head and he crumpled to the ground.

“Shit!” Seungcheol’s panicked voice yelled. “Dude I’m sorry! Why were you even there?!”

Mingyu started laughing.

“Oh no.” Seungcheol knelt down next to the injured boy. “Oh god, you’ve gone delusional. Quick, who are you and who am I?”

“Mingyu and an idiot.” He rubbed his head.

Once Seungcheol realized he was fine they both stood. Truthfully, Mingyu had been hoping Wonwoo was the one to walk through that door.

“Ugh, I told her to take these pictures of me down.” Seungcheol picked up a different frame that held a photo of a younger version of himself standing in front of the beach house.

“They’re cute, _hyung_!”

Seungcheol set it back down. “Shut up.” He moved around the room to set his things aside on the dresser. “I bet you weren’t expecting me to be your roommate.”

“I don’t think the both of us will even fit on the bed.” Mingyu agreed.

They started unpacking things, making light conversation about dinner preparations when Mingyu’s phone dinged. At the same time he heard Seungcheol’s phone vibrate. They both looked at each other and laughed.

“Probably something stupid in the groupchat.” Mingyu grabbed his device and opened it.

Indeed there were a couple of messages in the chat, including a funny picture of Seokmin asleep while Chan and Joshua had piled random objects from the room on his bed. There was even a lamp in the sleeping boy’s hands. But the thing that caught Mingyu’s attention was a notification from the Night Sky app.

 _Congratulations on your seventh REVEAL! You are now allowed to reveal your identity including your goal. You can read your common members with_ **_Fair Winner_ ** _in this chart here:_

Mingyu looked up slowly and found Seungcheol was already staring at him.

“You…?” Mingyu was at a loss for words. The app had a really scary way with timing.

Seungcheol sighed and flopped down onto the bed. “So you’re part of this hell project too?”

Mingyu quietly sat down at the vanity chair in the corner. “Too?”

He glanced down at the chart that was open. It seemed they both knew about Seokmin, Chan, and Jun as a part of the project. Now that Mingyu thought about it, there were a couple of others on the trip, like Jihoon, whom he knew had the app. He was suspicious, was this part of C’s plan? But there was no way C could have planned this.

“You’re...afraid of the ocean? And you come to the beach a lot?” Mingyu asked after they exchanged their end goals.

“I don’t go in the water.” He said. “It’s a little ridiculous I know.” And he proceeded to tell Mingyu his theory of the deeper meaning behind their end goals.

“Then, my goal isn’t specific enough.” Mingyu frowned. “How am I supposed to understand which love is real if I don’t really know what love is?”

“What do you mean?”

Mingyu thought back to when Jihoon had asked him to describe what being in love meant.

“Well, isn’t the definition of love a little bit too abstract?”

Seungcheol looked at Mingyu as if he was a child and chuckled. “I think that depends on how you define it.”

“Well then, how would you define it?”

The older stopped to think. “I guess it’s that feeling you get when you hear someone’s name and you also turn your head. Or when you see that person and feel relaxed around them. Or you care for them so deeply that seeing them upset would make you upset.” He was counting on his fingers for some reason. “Isn’t that kind of what you feel for Wonwoo?”

“ _What_!?!” Mingyu was so startled he fell back, hit the vanity, and knocked a bottle of perfume off. Suddenly the room smelled like a flowery old woman. He scrambled to pick it up. “What do you mean?” His face felt a little warm.

“Come on, Mingyu. I’m not dumb. I see you flirt with him and not just in your ‘I get what I want’ manly way.”

“In a what way?” Did he flirt with people that often?

“It’s more of a ‘Oh my gosh I want to squish his cheeks and wrap him in a fuzzy blanket’ way.” Seungcheol grinned. “And before you deny that, remember you literally bought him boba coffee because you ‘wanted to see him smile’?”

Mingyu suddenly felt horrified. “You heard me say that?”

“Dude, you said it to all of us.”

Something inside of Mingyu made his stomach flip. Maybe Seungcheol was right, maybe all of this time he wasn’t _just_ flirting with Wonwoo. But that could only mean one thing. Had he caught feelings for the boy behind the camera?

Mingyu shuddered at the thought. He was just messing around, he told himself. And there was no way Wonwoo even liked him in that way.

Suppress the feelings, Mingyu urged himself. He knew if he actually admitted his feelings, things would go down hill.

After their friendsgiving dinner, as Soonyoung so happily called it, Mingyu needed a break for fresh air. A couple of the guys agreed and they all headed down to the shore in the dark, cold night.

Thoughts swormed Mingyu’s head but he tried to push them away as he stood alone atop a cluster of rocks. The air was frigid and every so often the icy water would spray up around him and he’d feel a cold mist. He watched his friends split off into little groups scattered down below.

Chan was chasing Vernon, Seokmin, Seungkwan, and Soonyoung in a game of tag as Jihoon watched, sat in the sand bundled up in a fluffy white jacket that made him look like a marshmallow.

A little further down the beach stood Minghao and Jun. Mingyu couldn’t see too well in the dark of the night, but he knew the two were deep in conversation. Mingyu was curious as to what was going on between them. When he asked Minghao his friend would always brush it off.

“It’s cold out here.” A voice made Mingyu whip his head around.

It was cold, but his heart melted at the sight of Wonwoo. The older had approached Mingyu without his knowledge. He was wearing a black bomber jacket, a red beanie, and oh my gosh...

“What?” Wonwoo scrunched his nose. “Oh my glasses?” He adjusted the round circles on his nose. “The wind was bothering my eyes with my contacts.”

“I didn’t know you wore contacts.” Mingyu couldn’t help but smile.

“I’m blind as a bat.” Wonwoo laughed.

They stood together, watching the waves crash into the rocks as if they were two lovers who hadn’t meet for a long time. Each time met with the same intensity as the previous.

Mingyu didn’t know how to feel. It was the first time he was alone with Wonwoo in a long time. Over the past months Mingyu had hung out with his _hyung_ more and more. They would grab lunch with mutual friends, Wonwoo would come to fraternity events, and Mingyu would visit Wonwoo at work. All of their interactions, Mingyu found, were good memories. But something inside Mingyu was telling him that’s all they were. Friends who made good memories. Why did Mingyu dislike that so much?

“The moon is really bright tonight.” Mingyu stated.

“It’s a waxing gibbous.” Wonwoo explained. “Waxing because it shows only the right side and gibbous because it is the fuller shape as opposed to the crescent.”

Mingyu looked at the other in surprise. “I thought you were a film major?”

“I like learning all kinds of things.” He shrugged.

“Is there anything that you haven’t learned about yet that you’d like to?”

He watched as Wonwoo turned towards him and looked into his eyes.

“You.” Wonwoo said softly.

Mingyu felt a pang in his heart. Oh no.

“M-me?”

“Yeah,” Wonwoo stepped closer. “You’re a mystery to me. I know you’re a media and communications major, you’re in a frat…”

“Everyone knows those things about me.” Mingyu sucked in a breath. Here Wonwoo was again trying to learn about him and Mingyu wouldn’t have the opportunity to learn more about his camera boy.

“Do they know you’re pretty decent at volleyball? Or how you like your coffee? Or that you have a scar on the palm of your left hand?” Wonwoo took the younger’s hand and ran a thumb over it.

Mingyu was speechless at Wonwoo’s forwardness. He stared down at the touch. “How did you even know? I...I don’t know those things about you.”

“I’m not into sports, coffee is good all ways but best with vanilla, and I have no weird scars.” He was smiling as he continued to stroke Mingyu’s hand. “And I noticed your scar whenever you take my camera from me.”

Mingyu didn’t know what came over him, but he suddenly grabbed Wonwoo’s hand, stopping the gentle affection, and pulled him close into a hug.

He felt Wonwoo stiffen for a brief second before he relaxed and hugged him back as Mingyu said, “You know, I always wanted to know those things about someone else.” He closed his eyes, finding the warmth of Wonwoo comforting.

They pulled back but didn’t let go of each other. Mingyu could hear his inner conscience screaming at him to stop, to let go. He fought it a little longer.

“What things?”

“Little things…” Mingyu noticed Wonwoo kept his arms around his waist. “Like a person’s favorite color, or their least favorite food, or if they’re a cat or dog person.”

“Blue. Seafood. And cats all the way.”

Mingyu fake gasped. “Oh...I don’t think we can get along.” Wonwoo gave him a confused look. “Dogs are so much better.”

Wonwoo laughed and hit him playfully. “There’s so much more I want to know about you.” Mingyu shivered at the words. “For example, do you also want to hold everyone like this?” He joked. "While smelling like a rose?"

Mingyu’s insides were screaming. _He doesn’t mean it._ “No.” He heard himself saying. “Just you...And I accidentally knocked over a bottle of perfume.”

Their faces were close. Mingyu could smell the ocean, but he could also smell the faint scent of vanilla shampoo on Wonwoo again. Mingyu guessed Wonwoo didn’t only like vanilla in his coffee. Wonwoo’s dark eyes reflected the moon above. Mingyu found himself being hypnotized by them.

“Can...I kiss you?” Mingyu barely heard Wonwoo’s words over the roaring ocean underneath.

_He’s lying. He doesn't mean it. Don't do it._

Mingyu chewed on his cheek to keep those thoughts away. He closed his eyes and leaned forward. “Yes.”  _No._

And then they were kissing. Wonwoo’s mouth covered his own, lips warm and soft, feeling like a blanket of comfort from the cold. Mingyu was melting. He could do it. He could let himself fall. There was a boy in front of him that wanted to know more about him than just simple facts. He wanted to know just as much as Mingyu wanted to know about him. All the deep thoughts, meaningless knowledge, and weird habits. Wonwoo tasted like sweet memories, and their kiss was like a hopeful promise, and Mingyu thought he could actually do it. He could actually lo-

_NO!_

Mingyu jumped back, breaking the kiss, as if someone shocked him. His hand suddenly tingled.

Wonwoo stood frozen and wide-eyed, staring at Mingyu.

Shit, Mingyu thought.

“No…” He muttered. “No I’m sorry I didn’t-”

_Don’t! He will leave you! Just like they all do!_

Shut up. He tried to ignore his inner self.

“I’m sorry.” He said again, his voice and body shaking.

“Did...you not like it?” There was pain all over Wonwoo’s face.

I did. He wanted to say. “No! I mean no I-” _He will hurt you. End this now._ “SHUT UP!” He screamed.

Wonwoo stumbled back, flinching.

“No!” Mingyu could feel himself trembling. “No! I’m sorry not you!” _See! He’s looking at you strange. He’s going to leave you._

“Are...you okay?” Wonwoo’s face had concern written all over it. He reached out a hand. “Mingyu, you’re shaking.”

“Don’t touch me!” Mingyu shouted suddenly. _Good, good! He doesn’t actually care. See what I mean?_ Mingyu was giving into the voice. He crouched onto the ground, his hands in his face. “I’m sorry.” He mumbled into them, not looking at Wonwoo. “I’m sorry, I can’t.” He felt something wet on his palm and realized he was crying. “Leave me alone.” _Don’t leave me alone._

“If that’s what you want…”

_He’s leaving! Look what did I tell you!_

When Mingyu looked up again he could see Wonwoo’s retreating figure through his tears. He hated himself. Why did this happen every time?

With shaking hands, he pulled out his cell phone and entered a number he hadn’t called for a very long time.

“ _Annyeonghaseyo_?”

Mingyu hated this voice. “It-it’s ha-happening again.” He couldn't think straight. His thoughts came as screams.  _Good job! You managed to resist again. But I could lov- Don't think meaningless things. He will break your heart. But I feel like I broke his-He doesn't like you. He doesn't-_

“Mingyu-ah? Is that you?” The person on the other end of the phone asked. “I haven’t heard from you in a long time.”

“One vacation.” Mingyu managed to say a little more cohesively this time. “One vacation was all I ever wanted. I wanted to get away from this mess. I thought this was over!” He felt agony over the events that had just unfolded. “What do I do doctor?”

The person on the phone laughed. “I see you’ve gotten yourself in a bind. Well, if you managed to push someone away again than I want to congratulate you. Vacations are meant to be spent alone, after all.”

 

Soonyoung woke up alone.

Last night’s fun and excitement from being with his friends started to fade in his mind. The single bed on the other side of the room was empty. Jihoon was gone.

Soonyoung walked downstairs and found a couple of his other friends awake.

“Have any of you seen Jihoon?” Soonyoung asked. “I tried calling him but he didn’t answer.” His phone was clutched in his hand, his heart pounding. Last night, as they were falling asleep, Soonyoung made the brave decision to tell Jihoon something personal.

_"Jihoon?"_

_"Go to sleep Soonyoung."_

_Soonyoung rolled over in the small bed to look at the blob on the other bed that was Jihoon. "Can I tell you something?"_

_"You don't owe me for the gelato, just go to sleep." Jihoon rolled over and his eyes met Soonyoung's. He must have noticed the sincerity in them. "What's wrong?"_

_"You make me happy."_

_"Wha-" Jihoon sat up, flustered. "Don't say things like that."_

_Soonyoung sat back, folding his hands behind his head. "But I mean it." He stared at the ceiling. "I feel better nowadays...Like when I dance..."_

_"This is so embarrassing." He had his hands on his cheeks._

_"Shh, let me finish." Soonyoung whispered. "Anyways, when I dance I want to show you. I think of the time when we danced together whenever I make choreography."_

_"When will this end?"_

_"And you told me I was dancing like I wanted to forget something...but actually I wanted to remember something." He looked over at Jihoon staring at him in the dark. He looked cute holding a pillow to his chest. "I wanted to remember what it felt like to dance with a purpose."_

_Jihoon was silent._

_"You became that purpose." Soonyoung smiled, eyes closing._

_They were both quiet for a long while and Soonyoung thought Jihoon had fallen asleep._

_"I'm glad." Jihoon had said, but Soonyoung wouldn't remember as he slipped into unconsciousness._

The Soonyoung now replayed the memories in his head and wondered if he had scared Jihoon off.

A couple of hours had passed by and none of them had heard from Jihoon.

Soonyoung was getting antsy. “We need to go look for him!” He exclaimed, already putting his shoes on.

“Soonyoung, slow down. Maybe he had an emergency-” Wonwoo said, Soonyoung noticed his friend’s eyes were slightly puffy but he didn’t comment on it.

“Or he could be in an emergency!” Soonyoung didn’t know why he was so afraid. “I can’t just sit around!”

That’s how he and all of his friends became scattered along the beach and the boardwalk to find the missing Jihoon.

Soonyoung ran. He ran and ran until his lungs felt like they were going to burst and his legs started to cramp up. He ran until he couldn’t hear Wonwoo call after him anymore.

After he stopped and looked around he realized he was at the end of the boardwalk, at the pier. It was empty because no one but them had decided to come to the beach in November.

The sun was struggling to shine today as the clouds masked it. Soonyoung, being too worried, realized he hadn’t brought a jacket so he was in a pair of gym shorts and a t-shirt. He shivered as a gust of wind blew on his exposed skin.

He tried to call his phone again. “Jihoon, please.” He muttered, as he walked down the pier.

Ever since the day they danced together, Soonyoung enjoyed Jihoon’s company. Jihoon told him frequently that he was annoying but that didn’t stop him from putting up with Soonyoung long enough to hang out with him.

Soonyoung also found that he was starting to enjoy dancing again. He’d always enjoyed dancing, but he felt he finally understood what the Night Sky app had wanted him to remember. Every time he was with Jihoon he felt like dancing, truly dancing.  _With a purpose._ Was this what his end goal had meant?

But now Jihoon was nowhere to be found. And Soonyoung was afraid he’d lost his desire to dance again.

Finally, when Soonyoung had just about given up, he heard the small hum of music.

He turned his head at the noise and followed the sound.

He was so focused on the familiar sounding music he didn’t notice a girl walk past him. He didn’t care though once he saw a small figure sitting a distance away at the end of a dock.

Soonyoung started jogging, realizing he knew the song. It was the song Mingyu played at the barbecue all those weeks ago.

Soonyoung’s footsteps were loud as he approached the person. The person turned their head and indeed it was-

“Jihoon!” Soonyoung cried with joy.

Jihoon stood up. His short stature looked intimating with the dark ocean and gray sky looming behind him. “Soonyoung? What are you-?”

Soonyoung slammed into the shorter one with all his force, hugging him. “I thought you were gone!”

“Huh?” He wriggled in the taller boy's grasp. “Let go of me.” He mumbled, words drowned out by Soonyoung’s embrace.

He released him. “I was so worried! You weren’t there in the morning, and you weren’t answering your phone, and…”

“I’m fine, idiot.” Jihoon’s face was red. Soonyoung guessed it was from the cold. “Please don’t look at me like you’re about to cry.”

“But...I thought you were gone!” Soonyoung couldn’t hold back a sniffle of relief. "I thought I made you upset last night...Because I told you, you made me happy."

Jihoon didn't say anything.

“Then I heard your music...it’s such a good song!” He realized he was sputtering nonsense.

“What?” Jihoon looked surprised. “You’ve heard that song before?”

“Mingyu played it for me!” Soonyoung pouted. “How come he got to hear that song and you never showed me?”

Jihoon looked away. “Because…”

“I want to hear more of your songs!” He exclaimed. “Please?”

Jihoon looked at Soonyoung. “Idiot. Did you come looking for me wearing just that?”

The boy wearing hardly any clothing blinked. “Uh…”

Jihoon took his jacket off and threw it at Soonyoung. “Wear that.” He muttered, still not looking at Soonyoung. “Or you’ll catch a cold.”

Soonyoung smiled widely, pulling the fabric around him, appreciating the warmth.  “Why were you out here all alone?”

He didn’t answer right away. Soonyoung didn’t know what that meant.

“I was thinking.” Jihoon finally said.

“About what?”

“What I should write my next song about.”

Soonyoung nodded, a reasonable response. “I often want to be alone when thinking up new choreography.” He agreed.

“You know,” Jihood said. “Your dancing has been different lately than your old videos.”

“Have you been watching my YouTube channel?”

He shrugged. “I was curious.” He tucked his hands inside the long sleeve shirt he was wearing. “You dance with a smile on your face now.”

Soonyoung raised his eyebrows. “You noticed?”

Jihoon looked at him. Was he shy? “Yeah...It’s refreshing.”

Soonyoung’s heart felt full. “Can I dance to one of your songs sometime?”

“Sure." There was an even deeper shade of scarlet on the music producer's face. "That would...make me happy."

Soonyoung threw his arms around Jihoon again. "This is the best vacation ever." He sing-songed.

"Aren't vacations best when spent alone?" 

_You're alone. You're on your own._

Soonyoung looked around. It must have been his imagination.

_So what? Have you gone blind? Have you forgotten what you have and what is yours?_

He whipped his head around. Someone was definitely playing that song. The song he hated-

"Soonyoung?" Jihoon noticed the other slowly panicking. "Soonyoung!" His hand was on the other's arm. "What's wrong?"

He took a shaky breath. "Do...you hear that?"

Jihoon turned his head. "It's just music-oh." He had realized. "It's that song you don't like, right?"

Soonyoung nodded.

"I don't know why you don't like it...but just know it's going to be okay."

And Soonyoung believed him. He relaxed, trying to ignore the song. Jihoon wasn't _him_.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who, Soonyoung, who? What song do you hate so much? What is happening with Mingyu? Why did this chapter not answer any of the questions you previously had and why did it make you ask more questions?
> 
> Because I'm the worst, that's why. >_< I promise questions will be answered with time.
> 
> Thank you for reading!


	12. Am I C-Through?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: You may be SHOOK after this chapter...there are a lot of REVEALING things...
> 
> Read and you'll C what I mean...

**_C:_ ** _Hello, C here. This is a mass message to all of the members of the Night Sky app. I am informing you that you will have one more REVEAL before winter break. Throughout the duration of winter break you will not have any tasks. The app will be on a FREEZE. Thus, you must act as if this app never existed during your break. When you return for the next semester you will receive tasks once again. I will be updating you all one final time once everyone has made their REVEAL this week. Love, C._

Love C, my ass. Wonwoo rolled his eyes.

He felt like shit. Sure, it was almost mid-December, he had a shit ton of work for classes including his end of the semester honors report, and he caught a cold. But that wasn’t the only reason he felt like shit.

It had been a little over two weeks since the Thanksgiving vacation. Wonwoo noticed for some of his friends, like Soonyoung, the vacation treated them well. For others, like himself, it was a horrifying experience.

What happened on the rocks replayed in Wonwoo’s head over and over. Mingyu wanting to know more about him, Mingyu kissing him...Mingyu pushing him away as if their kiss was electrified. Mingyu screaming at him to leave him alone.

And Wonwoo had. He hadn’t spoken to Mingyu since them. Throughout the rest of the vacation they spent time apart and since returning to campus neither contacted the other. Wonwoo hadn’t even seen Mingyu at the coffee shop. There was no doubt in his mind that the younger was avoiding him.

There was a knock on his dorm room door.

“Go away, I’d like to wallow in my self-pity by myself, thank you.” Wonwoo mumbled into his pillow. He was trying to take his third nap today.

The knock grew louder.

He lifted his head up. “Unless you’ve come to tell me cats now run the government I’m not interested.” He yelled loudly.

The door opened. “No, cats don’t run the government. But how awesome would that be!” It was Jun. Seeing that the door was unlocked, there was no doubt his roommate left his key, so Wonwoo had been expecting Soonyoung.

“Are you a fellow cat connoisseur?” Wonwoo sat up, he could feel his hair sticking up from the static.

“Yes, and I bare gifts that shall fight the evil toxins in your body.”

“What?” He sneezed.

“I brought you soup and some medicine.” Jun clarified. Wonwoo was glad to see someone playing along with his antics.

The soup Jun bought was from one of his favorite Chinese restaurants in the area and Wonwoo loved it. There was a spice to it that cleared up his stuffy nose and a warmth that made him feel better.

“Where’s Soonyoung?” Jun asked, taking a sip of the soup.

“Probably sucking the DJ boy’s dick somewhere.”

Jun choked on the soup with a surprised sound and started coughing.

Wonwoo raised an eyebrow and watched his friend take a gulp of water.

“Ugh,” Jun finally grunted after the soup’s attack. “I did not need that image in my head.”

Wonwoo made a face and agreed. “I thought you guys had practice? How’d you know I was here?”

Just then his phone buzzed at the same time Jun’s went off. He didn’t have to look at it to know.

“You were tasked…” Wonwoo muttered staring down at the notification.

 _Congratulations on your eighth REVEAL! You are now allowed to reveal your identity including your goal. You can read your common members with_ **_Handsome Brightness_ ** _in this chart here:_

Of course it made sense Jun was a part of the project. There was something about each member that was revealed to Wonwoo that he had some previous connection with. It made him suspicious.

“Hey Wonwoo, can I ask you something embarrassing?” Jun finally asked after a while.

“Only if I can record it.” Wonwoo noticed Jun’s worried expression. “I’m kidding, what’s up?”

“What do you think about sex?”

It was Wonwoo’s turn to choke on the soup. He coughed and sputtered, wiped his face with a napkin, and took a sip of water. “Look Jun, I’m flattered-”

“Not you.” Jun rolled his eyes. He was blushing. “Forget it…”

“It’s overrated.” Wonwoo answered, causing the other to look at him in surprise. “People have sex all the time without feelings, and I think that’s kind of sad.” He looked at the dancer’s expression and couldn’t read it.

“But does it make someone a bad person if they have feelings but don’t um...finish?”

Wonwoo raised his eyebrows. “Then that person just sounds scared.” His mind wandered back to Mingyu. He was clearly scared of having something with Wonwoo but Wonwoo couldn’t figure out why.

Jun was staring out the window. It had started snowing at some point. A light flutter of flakes fell casting a white blanket over the SKUA campus. “The Night Sky app told me I need to be bold. After meeting Minghao I think I finally understand what it meant.”

Wonwoo had found out Minghao was part of the project the prior REVEAL, but glancing at his chart with Jun, the other didn’t know Minghao was involved yet. The pattern was strange to Wonwoo.

“I’ve never been particularly brave.” Jun continued. “People take advantage of me because of this.”

“And you’re afraid Minghao will take advantage of you, so to avoid getting hurt you don’t want to finalize a relationship?

Jun looked at him, mouth open. “Am I that see through?”

Wonwoo chuckled. “More like _C_ -through.” He knew now wasn’t the time to be making puns, but he couldn’t help himself. He cleared his throat. “What I mean is, it looks like C gave you a goal that’s supposed to push you out of your comfort zone.”

“How does C even know all of these things about us?” He shuddered.

Wonwoo didn’t have an answer to that.

“I mean...it seems like C knows about our past.” There was something about the way Jun said those words that made Wonwoo shift uncomfortably.

“Our past?”

Jun was sitting on his hands, restricting his movement. It was strange not seeing the guy that usually spoke while gesturing move.

“I...I had this nanny.” He said quietly. “My family is pretty wealthy so my parents weren’t around to much to take care of my brother and I. We had a lot of staff on hand, but the nanny was the one who was in charge of us the most. She also was in charge of the rest of the staff. For some reason, she liked my brother more. I think because he was the opposite of me.”

Wonwoo listened to the boy’s story carefully. He hated the Night Sky app for challenging something so personal to Jun. But, at the same time he was grateful he got to learn more about his friend.

“He was smart and popular. He was the star of the basketball team, he sang in the choir, and everyone loved him.”

Wonwoo frowned, noticing the use of past tense.

“He didn’t always finish everything he started though.” There was a blank look in Jun’s eyes as if his mind was far away. “He tried to play the piano...so he gave up and our nanny made me do it. He tried contemporary dance but thought it was too ‘girly’.” He broke off for a minute to look back at Wonwoo. “It’s not, by the way, you have to have incredible strength. Anyways, our nanny made me do that too.”

“You finished everything he left unfinished.” Wonwoo noted.

Jun nodded. “But, I wasn’t good enough. She scolded me, told me if my brother had learned what I learned he would’ve done it way better.” A shaky breath. “Then one day, he suddenly never came home.” He gulped, Wonwoo followed the movement of his adam’s apple with his eye. “It was the same day we had a fight in the morning. I was fed up with finishing everything for him. We never finished our argument. He’s been missing ever since…”

Wonwoo felt his heart break. He had no idea Jun’s quiet behavior and fear came from such an upsetting past.

“Did you know after seven years, a missing person can legally be declared dead?” Jun’s eyes looked absolutely shattered. “Next year will be seven years.”

Wonwoo finally understood. Jun was afraid to finish because of his brother. If he finished something now it reminded him of the guilt he felt.

“I know it's not my fault.” Jun said. “But I can’t help but blame myself. So that’s why now...I don’t allow myself to finish something I really want. Because it could be gone the next day.”

Wonwoo wanted to hug his friend but he remembered he was sick and instead comforted Jun with his words. “I don’t think you’re see through.” He told him. “I had no idea you experienced something like that.”

“It’s not something I tell everyone.”

“But it was brave of you to tell me. You were bold.”

Jun looked up at him astounded.

“And I think if you tell Minghao this story, and how you feel, you’d be even bolder.”

At first Jun sat motionless, thinking. Finally he started laughing. A light chuckle to himself. “You’re right.” He sighed. “I wish I was as bold as Soonyoung with his DJ boy.”

Wonwoo looked over at his roommates empty bed but his mind returned to Mingyu. “Me too.”

 

Soonyoung felt warm and fuzzy despite the bitter cold air. Due to the snow on the ground many classes were canceled and he had convinced Jihoon to agree to watch a movie with him, thus his bright mood.

After dance practice with the team, who was getting ready for a competition over winter break, Soonyoung decided to go pick up Jihoon’s favorite jjajangmyun noodles to surprise him. It was only 10 minutes away, but the snow was getting heavy so he decided to take the bus.

While waiting at the bus stop he had his earphones in and was going through a playlist of songs that he could use for the ending piece of the routine.

His phone vibrated and he got excited, thinking it was Jihoon.

 _New message from_ **_C_ ** _on the Night Sky app._

Soonyoung frowned and opened it. There was a link to a YouTube video.

He opened it and was surprised to see a video of him dancing but it wasn’t something he had uploaded. Even the music was something he had never filmed with.

The first note of a piano sounded and the Soonyoung in the video started dancing. At the same time, the Soonyoung watching dropped his phone, his headphones falling out. The song and video continued to play.

“Looks like you really don’t like that song.”

Soonyoung whirled around. Earlier there had been no one else at the bus stop with him. Now, a girl wrapped in a long trench coat, with a hat covering her hair, a mask over her mouth, and sunglasses shielding her eyes, sat on the snow covered bench.

“What?”

The girl leaned over to pick up the fallen device and then stood to return it.

“Um, do I know you?” Soonyoung grabbed his phone and quickly muted the video. His hands became cold from the snow and he reached in his pocket for his gloves.

His phone vibrated again. He ignored it, waiting for the girl’s response.

“Aren’t you going to get that?” She asked.

“It can wait.”

“I think you should look at it.”

He didn’t know why he was listening to this stranger, but before putting on his other glove, Soonyoung unlocked his phone and a message from the Night Sky app appeared.

_Congratulations on your eighth REVEAL!_

It buzzed again.

_Congratulations, you have achieved satisfaction!_

“Kwon Soonyoung, aka **Innocent Power** , nice to meet you. I’m C.”

Soonyoung dropped his phone again, a _crack_ emitted from the impact but he didn’t process it. “You, you’re... _WHAT_!?!”

On the bus C handed Soonyoung what looked like a pamphlet. He didn’t know why C was following him, or why he had agreed to sit with her, but he needed answers.

The pamphlet was gray with blue boxes that had white and yellow lettering. On the front in large letters read the word: **PLEDIS**.

“Soonyoung, you were selected along with 12 others to be a part of Project Life Enhancement Depicting Individual Satisfaction, or PLEDIS.”

He blinked at her words. She hadn’t removed her sunglasses or mask even sitting on the bus.

“It is a project that aims to make the lives of others better by bringing people together.”

“But...why?” Soonyoung was lost. “Why me? Why us? I haven’t even met everyone yet, right? You said there are 13 people total?”

“14, including myself.” C told him. “I am also part of the REVEAL schedule.” She turned and looked straight ahead. “There are some flaws in the schedule, but each of you must meet me. That is when you reach satisfaction.”

“Huh?” He shook his head in disbelief. “Wait, so if a member of this project meets you, then they have achieved satisfaction, correct? Then that means I’m done, I can stop this project now?”

“No.” She said sternly. “It just means you have satisfied one goal of the project. You have an end goal though, do you think you’ve achieved that?”

_To dance with a purpose._

Soonyoung thought about it. Ever since he met Jihoon and danced with him, he found inspiration for his dancing. He made choreography, wanting to show it to Jihoon or based off of something Jihoon did.

“I do. I dance with the purpose of spreading love.”

C turned to look at him and lowered her sunglasses a little. Soonyoung’s eyes met hers and he was surprised to see a sad look in them. He suddenly felt vulnerable.

C covered her eyes again and started humming.

To Soonyoung’s horror it was that dreadful song again.

“Stop please.” He pressed himself against the window, putting distance between them.

She did. “Looks to me though, that you dance with love and fear.”

“You don’t understand.”

“Why are you afraid of a song, Soonyoung?”

“Personal reasons…” He looked out the window. The snow fell in a blur.

“The more information you hold back from me, the more I hold back from you.”

It was cruel. Why did Soonyoung have to share so much about himself with this stranger who controlled his life for the past few months? And what made her think handing him a pamphlet and making him confess to personal matters was a good first meeting?

Still, he couldn’t resist. He needed to know the true intent of the project, especially because he was being forced to continue.

“That’s the song that made me start dancing…” Soonyoung said quietly. “It’s a painful memory.” A flash of images went by in his mind.

_“You need something?”_

_Soonyoung gasped, realizing he’d been caught watching. “Uh, oh I’m sorry...I just heard music and…”_

_The laugh of the boy was beautiful. “You dance?”_

_Soonyoung shook his head, stepping further into the music room. Soonyoung’s middle school didn’t have a proper dance studio._

_The boy started the music again. “This song is called ‘king’.” He explained, taking Soonyoung’s hands. He began to lead Soonyoung in a dance. “It sounds sad, but the lyrics are actually uplifting.”_

_Soonyoung was mesmerized by the fluidity of the movements the other boy had._

_“It makes me feel like I have a purpose.”_

Soonyoung bit his lip. He hadn’t thought about that person in a long time. Every time he heard that song he remembered that person. He remembered the love he felt for the song, the dancing, and that person. But he remembered the pain even more.

“I told you everything.” Soonyoung let out a shaky breath after explaining his fear of the song. “Now you answer my questions.”

C didn’t say anything so he took this as the go ahead.

“Why are you doing this?”

C sighed. “There are rules, Soonyoung. I cannot explain everything yet.”

He furrowed his eyebrows. “Then what’s the point of revealing yourself to me or the other members when you still can’t tell us why you’re doing this to us?”

“Because, not all of the members have met me yet. In fact some don’t even know that they will meet me.” She folded her hands in her lap. “This project isn’t just about you. There are 12 other people involved. Each one of you has a goal that is essential to your own true satisfaction. None of you have achieved your end goal yet.”

“And what about you?”

“What about me?”

“What’s your end goal, C?”

C froze. Soonyoung could see the movement and he secretly felt happy to know even C didn’t expect everything.

“Rules are rules.” She muttered and stood. They had reached their stop. “Don’t ask questions and everything will turn out okay.” She looked at him one last time. “Read the damn pamphlet.”

Before Soonyoung could ask, she was gone.

He scrambled to get off the bus too but when he did C was nowhere to be found, as if she disappeared.

He peered down at the pamphlet again, the word PLEDIS intimidating him. He opened it.

C was right. He shouldn’t have asked questions. The pamphlet had everything he needed to know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jun, I'm sorry I gave you a bad past.
> 
> Soonyoung, I'm sorry you can never peacefully get food.
> 
> Readers, I'm sorry I'm making you suffer with my vague ass story that's probably putting you on edge...  
> BUT next chapter is going to be well...different...you'll see what I'm talking about.
> 
> Also...PLEDIS...I hate myself hahahaa
> 
> Thank you for reading <3


	13. PLEDIS

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter should answer your questions...or make you more confused...probably both.
> 
> Please read my end notes for a little more context and some important info <3

_1 Year and 4 Months Ago_

_South Korea University Seoul Campus_

“In conclusion, you have no outstanding capabilities and you should probably give up.”

Diamond did not like being told she should give up. She did not like that as a graduate student she had to spend her summer at school. She especially didn’t like that she was in her second year of graduate school and was in jeopardy of failing.

“However, there is one opportunity that could save your scholarship.”

Diamond’s graduate studies ran on full scholarship. She had been a successful undergraduate studying psychology and was rewarded with the opportunity to continue her studies without money concern. Graduate school did not want her to continue her success.

She was currently being told that unless she undertook a research project, she would be dropped from the program.

So here she was, talking to the head of the honors graduate psychology program. Dr. Han was a lanky, thin man with dark eyes that made Diamond believe she shouldn’t trust him.

She probably shouldn’t.

“PLEDIS?” Diamond looked up from the file Dr. Han shared with her.

“Project Life Enhancement Depicting Individual Satisfaction.” He cleared his throat. “This is an experiment I have been meaning to run for quite some time now but the conditions were never right.”

“What conditions?” She scrolled through the computer to figure out what he was talking about. The consent form ran through a vague explanation of the project and wasn’t helpful.

“Well, you know our sister school in America?” He had turned his computer monitor towards her. There was a slideshow on the screen, a picture of the SKUA campus showing. “I have been searching and searching for students on our campus and other universities here in Korea, but none of the schools seemed to have the right subject for the experiment”

Diamond didn’t like the sound of this.

“And then it hit me,” Dr. Han clicked to the next screen. A picture of a boy, which must have been his college ID photo, along with identifying information was on the screen. “My wife, a social worker, introduced me to this kid when he was young. He used to come in to talk with me every few weeks.”

“To...talk?”

“Well,” He went to the next slide. “He was more of a participant in the study I was running at the time.”

“Which was?”

“A behavioral experiment.”

“Please tell me you didn’t…” But she didn’t have to finish. The words in the presentation explained it all.

_Conditioning_.

Diamond’s focus was social psychology, but if her memory served her correctly conditioning had to do with Pavlov and his dogs. Psychology was scary. Diamond had been studying it for almost six years now, and sometimes the research she read was frightening.

“Sir,” She shifted in her seat. “Isn’t that unethical?” _He’s a human, not a dog._

“I gained permission of his legal guardian at the time. ” He said. “Besides, he should no longer have the symptoms now.”

“But Dr. Han, this is a learned response.” Diamond’s eyes scanned the presentation. _At the age of 4 started classical conditioning study._

“Ah yes, but something learned can be unlearned with new experiences.”

Something on the screen made Diamond tense.

_Taught that love is an emotion that causes pain, therefore if he feels love he is conditioned to believe that the person does not love him back._

“This is insane.” Diamond muttered, trying to fathom just _how_ the psychologist had conditioned the boy.

“He was a perfect test subject.” Dr. Han went on. “His parents died at a young age so I used that as a way to convince him.” A chart appeared on the computer monitor depicting the conditioning the boy went through.

“But love can be defined differently by each person, especially as they grow. Isn’t this flawed?”

“Exactly!” Dr. Han clicked to the next slide enthusiastically. “That brings me to the current research that I want to conduct. “When I was an undergrad I was a participant of a psychology study somewhat similar to PLEDIS. It was something along the lines of ‘what happens when college students are forced to become friends?’ That research experiment actually sparked my love of this field! I made good friends from that project.”

Diamond was trying to process everything. “But,” She was still forming her protest but didn’t know where to begin. “With this PLEDIS project, instead of friendship you want to force…”

“Love!” He exclaimed. “Yes, Diamond did I say you should give up earlier? That was nonsense you’re a smart girl.” He chuckled. “Anyways, it sounds crazy, I know and there would need to be a substantial amount of participants.” He pulled up the next slide and the boy’s face was back on it. “He is going to be our key participant.”

“What about the others?”

“That’s where you will come in! For two years I am going to send you to SKUA. I can’t believe the boy decided to go there! During the first year you will monitor him, find his acquaintances, and recruit 11 others to be a part of the project. You are also to develop a social app only available to these people. Come your second year you shall select people with connections to our boy along with a few random others to keep the sample not completely biased.”

She was silent for a few long minutes, reading over the rules and flipping back through Dr. Han’s presentation. This was a big project, something that could definitely help her keep her scholarship if she did it correctly and produced good results.

“Diamond, let me ask you this.” Dr. Han turned the screen back to him then sat back in his chair, folding his arms over his chest. “What is your end goal?

“Huh?”

“Your end goal. What do you want to be remembered as? What do you want most out of life?”

This wasn’t something she wanted to discuss. Especially not with the wacko psychologist who just admitted to altering a boy’s emotions and his entire life. Especially not when he wanted her to do the same thing but with more people.

“I don’t know.” She finally admitted.

“Good! Those are the types of people I want you to find.” He scrolled down on the shared file they had. “These are the different goals each person will get. The boy gets the first goal, but everyone else can have whatever goal you assign. You may tweak the wording if you’d like once you’ve gotten to choose everyone.”

“What happens if I fail?” Diamond raised an eyebrow. “These are emotions and lives we’re talking about here, someone is bound to back out, not follow instructions, or not...fall in love.”

“Then I trust you to make the call on what to do.”

That pleased Diamond a bit.

 Diamond looked over the rules some more. They were long and most of them ridiculous. Dr. Han wasn’t just asking her to manipulate one boy’s life. He was asking her to manipulate 12 boys’ lives.

_Rules are meant to be broken._

She highlighted the number and changed it to 13. There were a lot more edits she had to do to this dreadful project.

"One more thing." Dr. Han said. "You will go by an alias when you interact with the boys, of course to protect your identity."

"Okay...and what should I go by?"

He tapped on his desk then noticed the ring on her finger. "C." He smiled. "Short for carat. Like a diamond carat."

 

_1 year and 2 months ago_

_South Korea University American Campus_

“Um, hello?”

Diamond looked up and saw a guy standing in the doorway. He was tall, handsome, and something about him seemed a little mysterious. He had a camera hanging from his neck and a tripod slung over his shoulder.

“Can I help you?” She moved to cover the paper she was reading.

The boy shuffled in, looking around the office. Diamond had only moved in to the space a couple of days ago so it was mostly empty save for the papers piled on the desk and her computer monitor.

“Is Dr. Tanko here?”

He clearly wasn’t and they both knew.

“Oh sorry,” The boy scratched his head. “I meant uh, this was his office last year…”

“Are you a film major?” She asked. “They moved all of the professors in that department to the same level on the first floor.”

The boy nodded. “Oh I see. Well sorry to bother, thank you professor uh…”

“You can just call me Diamond.” She said. “I’m the new psychology graduate assistant. And you are?”

“Nice to meet you.” He responded. “I’m Jeon Wonwoo.”

Diamond knew he was turning to leave but she remembered something. “Wonwoo, do you know anyone named Kim Mingyu? He’s a freshman.”

Wonwoo frowned. “I haven’t met any freshman, since I’m a sophomore. Sorry.”

“That’s okay, thank you.”

He gave her a strange look before leaving.

She walked back over to her desk and started looking up information on the boy she just met. The paper on her desk was from Dr. Han. It was a list of the names of potential people that could be involved in the project. Wonwoo’s name was on it. Diamond thought she was lucky to have run into him. She circled his name to remind herself to keep an eye on him.

There was still so much to do for the project. Dr. Han’s intentions for the project didn’t make sense to her which is why she kept the changes she had made a secret. She didn’t know why, but Diamond felt she needed to help Mingyu and the others. She had to protect them from whatever the psychologist’s true intentions were.

She had to find Mingyu.

 

_Four Months Ago_

_September 2_

“Watch where you’re going.”

“I’m sorry.”

Both people returned to their phones.

“What?” Dr. Han asked on the other end of Diamond’s phone.

“Nothing.” She told him looking back over her shoulder to see the retreating figure of Wonwoo. “Just ran into one of our participants. Seems he’s on his way to the first REVEAL.”

“Good,” His voice was disturbingly excited. “And Mingyu?”

“I’m on my way to check on him now.” She hung up and opened the Night Sky app to respond to the messages that were flooding in.

_You’re a diamond in the sky, a brilliant shining diamond in the night sky._

Diamond had named the app after something her mother had told her all those years ago. Because even though her mother wasn’t with her they’d always share the same night sky.

_You’re my diamond in the night sky._

Missing her mother a little bit more she twisted the ring on her finger. It had been her mother's wedding ring. Diamond shook her head to focus and continued to walk. After a while she finally found herself in front of the man-made lake.

She walked over to hide behind a tree near a bench where a short guy with large headphones sat. He was messing on his phone and Diamond knew he was trying to decipher the Night Sky app.

After a few minutes she saw him. She’d seen Mingyu many times but this was going to be her first actual interaction with him.

He said goodbye to the group of people that cooed after him, saying their fake “I love you’s” and then walked towards Diamond, not knowing.

Diamond almost didn’t want to do what she was about to do.

She counted to ten then walked out of the trees looking confused. She pretended to look around then purposely, and probably a little too forcefully, collided with Mingyu.

“Oh! Oh my god, I’m so sorry are you okay!?” She asked, scrambling to collect her papers that scattered. Just like she had hoped, Mingyu’s wallet had fallen out.

His sweet self was too busy picking up her papers to notice her open it and take a peek at his resident registration number, the Korean equivalent of a social security number.

“Thank you!” She exclaimed, exchanging his wallet with her papers.

“No problem, you should be careful next time.”

Diamond fake laughed. “I’m sorry. I’m the new psych graduate assistant and I was so busy trying to find my way back to the social science building I wasn’t paying attention.” She smiled. “You take care now!”

After their goodbye Diamond dropped the fake smile. That number should give her everything she needed.

 

_Present Day_

_December 20_

“What the _fuck_ is this!?!”

The door to Diamond’s office slammed open.

She had a headache before, but now she knew it might become a migraine.

“No. _No. NO!_ I am not doing this!”

“Calm down, Hong.” She rubbed her temples.

Joshua shut the door and slammed his phone down on her desk, showing her the screen. “I don’t care if you’re compensating me, I am NOT going to do this.”

When Diamond had altered the original rules of PLEDIS, she knew she was going to need inside help. Joshua, a psychology major who she found through the advanced research methods courses she assisted with, was a perfect inside help for the project. He was compensated with money, like the others in the project were, they just didn’t know yet.

“Aren’t you supposed to be on a break?” Diamond leaned back in her chair. The campus was mostly empty after the students had returned to their homes for winter break.

“I leave tomorrow.” He muttered. “But you need to answer my question, what the hell does this mean?”

Joshua was referencing the new set of tasks for him to do.

“My graduate professor stated that next semester, our last semester of this project, must be the most involved. You and I will have a lot of work to do.”

“What does that _mean_!?” Diamond had never seen Joshua this angry. He was usually calm, quiet, and such a gentleman. She knew this project would change people, she just wished there was some way it didn’t have to come with negative repercussions.

“It means you do the tasks assigned to you without questioning it.You know the rules. Besides, you know you need the compensation.”

Joshua tensed. Money was a tough subject for him, Diamond knew.

“You never told me what he went through.” He sat down in the chair, looking tired. “You never told me what any of them went through.”

“We all go through things, Hong.” Diamond leaned on her desk. “You think I honestly want to do the things I’m doing for this experiment?”

“Please don’t call this an experiment. They’re people-”

“They’re _participants_.” The headache inside of her was pounding. She stood, opened the window, and plucked out a cigarette from the box in her pocket. “We can’t pretend and ignore what we’re actually doing.” She lit it and took a long drag.

Joshua dramatically pinched his nose. “You told me you fixed it.” He said, voice pitched weird from his blocked nose.

“I did.” Diamond snapped, smoke mixing with frigid air. “You were never supposed to be part of this project. I added you as a participant.”

“Does Dr. Han know?”

She squinted her eyes at him and took another puff. “No.” She exhaled. “I’ve managed to keep my reports void of anything that I’ve manipulated. Besides, I have one goal and that is to see this project to completion.”

“They’re going to get hurt.” Joshua faced her, one leg crossed over the other.

“They’re already hurt.” Diamond put out her cigarette and closed the window. She tossed the burned out cigarette butt into the ashtray then returned to her desk chair. “Dr. Han told me Mingyu called him over Thanksgiving break.”

“We were at the beach house.” Joshua frowned. Diamond had also been at the beach.

“I know. Apparently the years of conditioning he did on Mingyu still stands to this day.”

“How do we stop it?”

This was why Diamond had picked Joshua.

She rubbed her eyes. “I don’t know. I can’t figure out the unconditioned stimulus.” Even after obtaining Mingyu’s ID number, she didn’t have access to all of the information she needed.

The unconditioned stimulus, or the thing that involuntarily causes a reaction, was the biggest thing missing from Diamond’s data. Dr. Han hadn’t told her what he did to Mingyu all those years ago and it was hindering her own progress for cracking the real reasoning behind PLEDIS. She only knew Mingyu couldn’t love, because if he did he wouldn’t believe in it. He would only believe that he’d get hurt.

“I need you to do those tasks, Hong.” She repeated. “And...I’m going to tell everyone.”

He blinked at her. “Tell everyone what?”

“About the app, about the experiment.”

Joshua’s eyes widened. “Isn’t that against the rules?”

“Rules are meant to be broken.” Diamond said, eyes serious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well...this may not be what you were expecting out of this fic (because of all the brain work involved?)...but I PROMISE this is a meanie fic (with other ships) and with smut. I just haven't gotten there yet.
> 
> Anyways, for those of you that aren't familiar with psychology terms or if you're confused with what Diamond(C) and Dr. Han are talking about here is a quick run down (but later chapters will explain a little bit more):  
> Classical Conditioning: a learning procedure where a biological stimulus is paired with a previously neutral stimulus thus leading the neutral stimulus to become one that elicits a response. (I know it says biological and what is included in the chapter you just read deals with emotions but explanation will come later~)  
> Pavlov's Dogs: Pavlov (a Russian psychologist) found that objects or events could trigger a conditioned response. For dogs, in the presence of a bowl of dog food (stimulus), there would be a triggered an unconditioned response (salivation). Later Pavlov used a whistle to signal it was time for food and long story short the dogs soon learned to start salivating when they heard the whistle even if there was no food.
> 
> So yes...something similar happened to Mingyu that effected his perception of love. 
> 
> IMPORTANT INFO: So, this chapter is meant to serve as a big turning point in the story to open the eyes of both the characters and you, the readers. That being said, there are some major events that I would like to write properly so if my updates are slower than usual I apologize in advanced.
> 
> Okay! Sorry for the lengthy note. I will go respond to your comments now. Love you all and thanks for reading! >_<


	14. Broken Rules, Broken Boys

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! This chapter has two things you've been waiting for.
> 
> Answers and smut...with Soonhoon...
> 
> WARNING: Implied rape (not between soonhoon). Included to explain the plot, I apologize if this is triggering. You may skip the smut scene if you do not want to read it (starting at the second page break).
> 
> (Note: I've never written smut before so I'm sorry if it's shitty asdfghjkl)

**_Cold Blue:_ ** _Do you think things are about to get worse? Like we’ll have more embarrassing tasks or have to go on blind dates or something?_

**_Round Heart:_ ** _Isn’t that what the REVEALs are sort of like?_

Wonwoo wanted to make the conversation light-hearted, but his nerves mixed with **_Cold Blue’s_ ** questions put him on edge.

Winter break for Wonwoo was uneventful. And he loved it.

For a solid month and a half there were no notifications from Night Sky. In fact when C said the app was on a FREEZE they were quite literal. Wonwoo couldn’t even open the app.

And he hadn’t cared.

During the break Wonwoo returned to Korea to spend time with his family. He enjoyed playing the endless hours of video games and eating his mom’s cooking. The most eventful thing that happened was when he video-chatted Soonyoung after their dance team competition to inform him that they won.

Now he was back at SKUA for the spring semester and over the past two weeks he felt anxious.

It started the first day back when the members of the project received a long message from C. The message gave more context to the purpose of the app, which was for a project called PLEDIS. Wonwoo also learned that some of the members already achieved satisfaction. Apparently he hadn’t, and that made him angry.

**_Cold Blue:_ ** _I guess. Hey, are you allergic to dogs by any chance?_

**_Round Heart:_ ** _No, why?_

“Because I brought one.”

Wonwoo looked up from where he was sitting on the bench by the lake. It was almost the end of January so it was still freezing outside, but luckily no snow.

Standing behind him was Chan. Wonwoo wasn’t surprised in the slightest to see him. His suspicion about the project involving people he knew seemed to be true.

With Chan was a dog with curly brown fur. He was curled up in Chan’s arms wearing a blue sweater to keep from the cold.

“Wonwoo- _hyung_.” Chan’s voice also didn’t sound too shocked. “I should’ve known you were a part of the app.”

Wonwoo scooted over as Chan sat down. “And I didn’t know you owned a dog.”

“He’s _hyung’s_ .” He meant Seokmin. “His name is Bam and he helps _hyung_ calm down. I’m watching him right now because _hyung_ is at acapella practice.”

The sound of their phones filled the empty space but they both knew it was Night Sky congratulating them on their REVEAL.

“So both of you have the app.” Wonwoo noted, looking at their common members. “How is Seokmin handling it? I’m sure with the news about the project name and all he might be on edge.”

Chan scratched Bam’s ears. “He’s been more worried than usual.” He paused as if realizing something. “I think because he hasn’t achieved satisfaction yet.”

Wonwoo raised an eyebrow. “I haven’t either. Have you?”

Chan nodded quietly. “It’s not what you think though.”

He frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I can’t tell you.”

“Of course.” Wonwoo sighed. There was still something really off-putting about the whole thing. C told them about the project but it wasn’t over. To Wonwoo it sort of felt like...a warning.

“But what I _can_ tell you is this. Since this seems to be like some sort of experiment, we’re being compensated for our time.” Chan rustled around in his hoodie pocket and produced an envelope. He passed it to Wonwoo. “That’s all for the first semester.”

Wonwoo took the envelope and his jaw dropped. It weighed a lot more than he expected. He opened it carefully and made a noise of surprise. A large stack of bills rested inside. “How did you get this? How much is this? Why so much?” He couldn’t help but be alarmed.

Chan chuckled. “I was surprised as well. One of my tasks was to obtain this money, I’m sorry I can’t tell you how. This is your cut for being a participant. I think it’s about five hun-”

“ _What?_ ” Wonwoo couldn’t believe it. He was grateful that C was compensating them after providing the members information about Night Sky, but it did not explain everything.

“I’m sorry I can’t tell you everything.” Chan said quietly.

“It’s okay, it’s not your fault.” He smiled at the younger.

“My goal is to protect, and at first I thought I’ve protected _hyung_ my whole life. But now I’m starting to think it’s more than just him I’m supposed to protect. It’s all of you.”

Wonwoo stared speechless at the freshman.

“I just don’t really know what I’m protecting you from.” Chan looked out across the lake. “But I know I’m proud to say I have people in my life that I care about enough to want to keep them safe.”

Chan was too pure for this world.

Before Wonwoo could say this his phone started to ring. He answered.

“Jihoon?”

“Wonwoo!?” He sounded like he was running. “Where,” A gulp of air. “Are you?”

“I’m near the lake on campus. What’s wrong?”

The rustling of wind made his voice sound far away. “Have you seen Soonyoung?”

“What? I thought you guys were on a date?” Wonwoo stood up from the bench, Chan giving him a concerned look.

Wonwoo expected Jihoon to criticize him for calling it a date but the panic in the other’s voice sounded like there was no room for being bitter. “We are...we were...I went to the bathroom in the restaurant and when I came back out Soonyoung was gone. The waitress said he paid though and walked out alone. He won’t answer his phone but I have a bad feeling…”

“I’ll check here on campus and get back to you. You stay in the area.” He hung up.

“What happened?” Chan asked.

Wonwoo looked at the younger. As much as Chan wanted to protect others Wonwoo couldn’t help but want to protect his friends too. “Soonyoung is gone. I’m going to check our room and other places he might be. Could you call your brother, Vernon, Seungkwan and anyone else that might know where he is?”

“I’m on it!” Chan set Bam down and opened his phone. “I’ll keep you posted _hyung_!” He jogged away, Bam running with him. Wonwoo smiled at how dependable Chan could be.

Wonwoo called Soonyoung several times. It rang and rang but no response. He checked their dorm room but he wasn’t there. He called Jun who informed him he wasn’t at the dance studio. Wonwoo started to feel more concerned. Normally Soonyoung did random things impulsively, and normally Wonwoo wouldn’t be worried, but to get Jihoon, a calm and level-headed guy, freaking out, Wonwoo had every reason to also feel unsettled.

After half an hour of running around he got another call from Jihoon.

Wonwoo slowed his running to a jog. “Hello?”

Jihoon sounded like he was in pain. “Need...backup...now.”

“What? Backup Jihoon, what’s-?”

“ _I told you to leave him alone!_ ”

“ _Are you raising your voice at me, prince?_ ”

“Wonwoo- _hyung_?”

Wonwoo stopped in his tracks and looked up. The timing could not have been any worse.

Without realizing it Wonwoo had run by one of the cafes on campus. Walking out of the shop with a group of friends was Mingyu. He looked handsome in his ripped jeans and leather jacket, which Wonwoo was confused about considering how cold it was outside. There was also the shock of not seeing or talking to each other all break that had him feeling devastated.

But Wonwoo didn’t have time to think about his own feelings. He turned away from the younger and paid attention to his phone again.

“Wonwoo? Please,” He heard Jihoon say, a shake in his words. “Bring band-aids.”

And then he hung up.

“Fuck.” Wonwoo muttered under his breath.

“ _Hyung_ are you okay?” Mingyu had broke off from his group of friends to speak to Wonwoo.

“ _No_.” He spat, not meaning to sound bitter. He couldn’t help it, he started to speak rapidly. “No. I’m sorry, I just-Soonyoung is missing.” He looked at his watch for the time. “And it’s getting dark and I couldn’t find him in the dorm and Chan is also asking around and Jihoon is alone somewhere and…”

“Wonwoo breathe.” Mingyu suddenly placed his hands on Wonwoo’s cheeks.

Wonwoo blinked in surprise. The taller’s hands were warm on his cold face. He had been running around for so long he didn’t even realize how cold he was.

“What do you need?” Mingyu asked him.

_Answers_ . Wonwoo wanted to say, searching Mingyu’s face. They hadn’t spoken a word all this time, how _dare_ he show sudden interest in him? But Wonwoo’s body seemed to disagree. He leaned into Mingyu’s warm touch.

“I need...to find my roommate.”

Mingyu released his cheeks only to grab his wrist. “Okay then, let’s go.”

“What?” Wonwoo was dragged along.

“You don’t have a car, right?”

“No I mean…” He stopped and ripped his arm a little too forcefully from Mingyu’s hand. The younger froze. “Why?”

“Why what?”

Wonwoo didn’t have the time or right to be angry but he couldn’t stop his emotions.

“Why do you have to show up?” His voice raised. “Why was it you of all people, when I needed someone?”

Mingyu looked like Wonwoo had punched him in the gut. “I don’t know. If you really don’t like it-”

“No. I don’t not like it. I-” Wonwoo knew he was being annoying and his emotions were all over the place. For once in his life he felt...unstable.

He got a buzz on his phone. It was Jihoon with the address.

“We’ll talk about...this...later.” He turned away, picking up his pace secretly hoping the younger would follow him.

If he had waited a second longer he wouldn’t have missed the longing look on Mingyu’s face, one filled with affection and pain.

One that made Mingyu look a little broken.

 

Jihoon had never been on a date. He blames it on his lack of time to pursue romance, but truthfully it was because he shut people out. And he had every good reason to do so. People were untrustworthy and too much effort.

But when Soonyoung entered with his bright personality, soft smiles, and contagious laughter, Jihoon couldn’t help it. Sure, he found the excited dancer to be over the top and annoying, but he also found it comforting. He finally found someone to open up to.

Which is why he reluctantly let himself fall into Soonyoung’s charms and warm-hearted nature. He found himself subconsciously writing lyrics about the boy. He even got extremely embarrassed when a few of his subscribers on his channel commented that his songs were sounding a bit like he was in love.

Was he in love?

Jihoon didn’t have time to ponder. He just spent the last hour roaming around god knows what town. This is why he liked to stay home. He was terrible with directions and terrible at asking other people for help. He could call the police, but what would he say? ‘Hi I lost my friend who may also be my boyfriend although I would never say that to his face because he would be too goddamn happy, please help me find him? He’s got squishy cheeks, he’s actually surprisingly tall, and his eyes supposedly resemble a tiger’-sounded a ridiculous and Jihoon would probably die from embarrassment saying it.

He almost gave in though when he ran by an alleyway and heard a familiar voice.

“Please don’t call me that.”

“C’mon babe. You used to love it.”

“I called you out here to tell you-um please let go.”

“HEY!” Jihoon yelled.

The two people turned. The first was a guy Jihoon had never seen before. He was alarmingly tall and lanky but muscular biceps were attached to his arms. In his arms was Soonyoung.

“Jihoonie?”

“Get your hands off of him!” Jihoon marched into the alleyway.

“Oh? Who’s this, prince?” The unknown guy turned to face Jihoon. “A suitor?”

“Soonyoung, are you alright?” Jihoon asked, trying to step around the guy. The image of Soonyoung in someone else’s arms rubbed him the wrong way.

The stranger stepped into his path, Jihoon’s forehead slamming into the guy’s collarbone.

“Uh uh.” The guy smiled, he had disturbingly perfect, straight teeth. “No commoners allowed.”

Jihoon sneered at the stuck-up stranger. “Who the fuck do you think you are!?”

“Jihoonie, don’t…”

Too late. Jihoon’s fist connected with the guy’s jaw.

The guy stumbled back, hand to his face. Instead of hitting Jihoon back, like he thought he would do, he just laughed. “Prince, you didn’t tell me you found yourself a new happily ever after.”

What was this guy on? Jihoon thought. Wait a _new_ -

Then Jihoon realized. The reason Soonyoung was being so cautious. This guy was Soonyoung’s ex. They had talked about it only once. Jihoon was wondering why Soonyoung was so insistent on not having a pet name. Jihoon never considered it in the first place, but Soonyoung told him it gave him bad memories. That’s when Jihoon brought up the song. He remembered how uncomfortable Soonyoung got during the conversation.

Soonyoung’s ex-boyfriend stood again. He must’ve been almost a foot taller than Jihoon.

“You’ve got some guts, kid.” There was no blood on his face but there would probably be a bruise later considering the pain in Jihoon’s knuckle. “Coming between me and my prince.”

“Listen, I don’t know who the hell _you_ are.” Jihoon tried to make himself look larger by getting in the other guy’s space. He was angry. This guy broke Soonyoung’s heart, traumatized him somehow causing him to hate a song, and now he suddenly appears claiming Soonyoung as if he was an object. “But he isn’t _your_ anything.”

_Wham!_

Jihoon suddenly saw black dots dance across his vision. He felt a sharp pain at the back of his head and his back felt as if someone had ran sand paper over it. That’s when he noticed he was lying on the ground in pain. He felt something wet drip down his nose and realized he was bleeding. He rolled over to see the guy grabbing Soonyoung by the waist, lifting him and running away while Soonyoung struggled in protest. Jihoon heard him call his name several times and his heart hurt. He heard Soonyoung yell something about leaving Jihoon alone and his ex responding but the pain blocked his ability to comprehend fully.

In pain he sat up and took his phone out to call Wonwoo.

After he got off the phone he heard someone approach him and he whipped his head around to see who it was, which only caused him more pain.

“Jihoon, I’m sorry.”

“C?”

It was dark outside but the long trench coat and hat was unmistakably Diamond.

She rushed to Jihoon’s side pulling out tissues from her purse to help him clean up his face. “I’m so, _so_ sorry.” He realized she was crying. “This was never supposed to happen.”

“What are you talking about?” His voice sounding funny with the wad of tissues pressed against his nose.

She rummaged through her purse again to pull out a water bottle and hand it to him. “I didn’t know he would do this.”

“Who would do this? What are you talking about? How did you know I was here?”

Diamond wiped at her eyes. “I can’t tell…” She grunted in frustration. “Ugh! You know what I _will_ tell you. But now isn’t the time. That asshole is getting away with Soonyoung. Can you stand?”

Jihoon got to his feet slowly and winced in pain. It hurt but he set off at a slow jog following Diamond out of the alleyway and into the night.

He called Soonyoung’s cell phone and heard it ringing up ahead. The two hadn’t gotten as far as Jihoon thought.

He saw why.

Soonyoung had somehow gotten loose from the guy’s grip and was running back towards Jihoon. “Jihoonie!” He yelled, his face set in worry with his lips quivering and his eyebrows knit together. Jihoon relaxed at the sight and opened his arms to let Soonyoung run into them.

He grunted at the impact and the pain but having Soonyoung safe masked his hurt.

Until his ex showed up again.

“What’s your problem!?” Jihoon yelled at him as he came into the light of the dim street lamp. No one else was outside as it was getting late and most shops were closed. “Can’t you see he doesn’t want to deal with you?”

The guy stopped and saw Jihoon standing in front of Soonyoung in a protective stance. Soonyoung, despite being taller, was cowering behind him.

“ _He’s_ the one who called me out!”

Jihoon glanced at Soonyoung in alarm. He saw Diamond a few paces behind, hiding in the dark of the night.

Soonyoung gasped. “B-because I wanted it to stop!”

“Wanted what to stop, Soon?”

“Him! The memories! Instead of forgetting I wanted the pain to go away!” Soonyoung yelled, tightening his grip on Jihoon.

“Get _over_ yourself, prince.” The guy rolled his eyes.

“Shut up.” Jihoon spat at him.

“Hey prince, I bet you haven’t showed him what your pretty mouth can do when it’s not talking up a storm.”

“Shut up!”

“Honestly, I think you called me out here again to say you want me back.” The guy smirked. “Come with me, we can dance to our favorite song, prince.”

“He’s not a prince!” Jihoon yelled, anger boiling in him at the guy’s words. “He’s a king!” He glanced back at Soonyoung with a smile. “And he’s my king.”

Soonyoung returned the smile. “That’s right. And I don’t dance for you anymore.” He said. “I dance for myself.”

Jihoon blinked, trying to connect the dots of what he was saying.

Soonyoung’s ex laughed. “You think I cared about you for your dancing?” Jihoon felt Soonyoung tense. “Hey brat,” He directed his words at Jihoon. “Do you know why I call him prince? Because that’s what everyone called him.”

“Soon, what is he talking about.”

“You haven’t even told him!?” His ex cackled. “Go on! Tell him!” He demanded. “Tell him how I got you into dancing. Tell him how you just _loved_ dancing so much that you would dance for anyone!”

And then the dots connected.

“I was… a stripper…” Soonyoung said softly. “I was _his_ stripper.” He was crying. “I’m sorry, Jihoonie. I didn’t mean to keep it a secret.”

“It’s okay.” Jihoon said. And he meant it. Soonyoung was so afraid of this guy because he used to force Soonyoung into doing things he was uncomfortable with.

“Hey asshole!” Diamond yelled behind them. She stepped into the light. “I recorded everything and you better get out of here before the police show up!”

“Who the fuck-?” Soonyoung’s ex looked and his eyebrows raised when he saw Diamond. “I see.” He said. “Enjoy your happily ever after, prince.” He spat, then turned to leave.

Diamond appeared next to Jihoon and Soonyoung.

“Did you really call the police?” Soonyoung asked.

“No.” Diamond sighed. “But I should’ve.” She turned. “Soonyoung, I am so sorry you had to go through that. As soon as I found out I swear I tried everything to stop it.”

Soonyoung nodded, not really looking convinced. “I had to do it sooner or later. I had to find my true purpose.” He looked at Jihoon.

Diamond nodded. “I’m just glad you two are okay.”

“Thanks.” Jihoon mumbled. In the street he saw a car approaching with Mingyu in the driver’s seat and Wonwoo next to him. “You can come back with us if you want.”

She shook her head. “I can’t.” And with that she disappeared.

 

Later that night Soonyoung insisted on staying with Jihoon.

He was delighted when Jihoon just unlocked his apartment door and stepped aside to let Soonyoung in too.

Both of them were tired and the grime of the alleyway wasn’t helping.

“Jihoonie.” Soonyoung stepped closer to him shyly. “Can I take a shower?”

“Yeah.” Jihoon was shucking off his jacket. “You know where it is.”

“Can you come with me?”

Jihoon looked at him as if to say _oh_.

His cheeks grew pink and Soonyoung thought it was the cutest thing ever.

They both moved to the bathroom.

Jihoon stood, shuffling his feet, unsure of what to do.

Soonyoung smiled and lifted him up to sit atop the counter next to the sink.

“What are you-?”

“Shhh.” He hushed the protest. “You’ve got blood on your face.” He took a towel and ran it under water then brought it to Jihoon’s nose.

At this level Jihoon was slightly taller and looking down on Soonyoung. The latter smiled as the other boy closed his eyes and let him clean his face.

“Soonyoung.” Jihoon said and he shuddered at the way his name was said. “Why did you meet him?”

Soonyoung stepped back and looked at the other boy whose eyes were still closed. The shirt he was wearing had come loose, with two buttons open at the top and Soonyoung could see a pale shoulder. Jihoon was being vulnerable and open to him.

He decided to do the same.

“That stupid app made me do it.”

Jihoon’s eyes flew open. “What?!”

Soonyoung stepped towards him again, this time resting his hands on either sides of his legs. “I didn’t want to. But C told me...Diamond told me the only way to love you completely would be to get rid of my past demons.”

Soonyoung noticed the way Jihoon’s face reacted to the word _love_.

“But then she told me it wasn’t her, and that she tried to stop it. I didn’t mean to get you hurt.” He whispered.

To his surprise, Jihoon reached out and wrapped his arms around Soonyoung’s neck.

“This bullshit app did this to me, not you.” He said. “And I think I believe C. That she wanted to help you. She said she broke the rules to come find us.”

Soonyoung smiled. “It may be bullshit, but in a way it helped me realize something.”

Jihoon tilted his head at him.

“You’re my end goal.” He laughed at the surprised look on the shorter’s face. “I dance with the purpose of expressing my love for you, not to suppress bad memories.” He brought his face close. “I love you, Jihoon.”

Soonyoung heard Jihoon suck in a breath and thought for a second he had ruined the moment. Then he felt a tug, his nose bumped the other’s, and suddenly they were kissing.

Jihoon’s lips were soft and inviting. The kiss was gentle and when the shorter pulled away he said, “Idiot. I’ve been waiting for you to say that.” His eyes met Soonyoung’s. “And...I love you too.”

Their lips met again, this time in a more heated kiss. After a few minutes of making out Jihoon pulled back. He looked absolutely beautiful and wrecked, his lips swollen from Soonyoung’s own.

“Were you really a stripper?” Jihoon asked.

Soonyoung looked away, shyly. “Yeah. That asshole...I really did like him. He taught me how to dance and I loved it. He was dancing to that song when I met him.” He watched Jihoon shift. “And then he kept playing it. And one day he made me-” Soonyoung stopped thinking of the painful memory. “I was at the club after work...and that song was playing after everyone had left...and we were alone...and he started kissing me. And then before I knew it he was-”He closed his eyes at the painful memories.

Jihoon’s hand came up to cup his face and Soonyoung leaned into the touch. “I’m sorry, Soon. I’m sorry you had to go through those things.” He stroked Soonyoung's cheek. "I'll write you a new song. One that you'll love, that will erase those bad memories." Soonyoung opened his eyes. “I understand if you don’t want to-”

Soonyoung leaned his forehead against his love’s. “You’re not him, Jihoon.” He kissed the other's nose. “I want you to do those things to me. I trust you.”

“We should get in the shower.” Jihoon breathed.

Soonyoung turned on the water to let it warm up. He turned back to Jihoon who was unbuttoning his shirt and swatted at his arms playfully to indicate that he wanted to do it.

Once Jihoon’s shirt was no longer in the way Soonyoung raked his eyes over his beautiful body. He couldn’t help but touch it. “Jihoonie,” He said kissing him again on the lips before moving his mouth to his jaw and then slowly to his neck. “You’re beautiful.” He told him then bit softly at the skin.

Jihoon moaned and that only encouraged Soonyoung to continue. He left marks everywhere as his mouth traveled down further. When he got to the end of his abs, just above the waistband of his pants, Jihoon tapped him to pull him off.

“Let’s get in.” Jihoon mumbled, moving off the counter to take his pants and underwear off.

Soonyoung smiled and started to remove all of his clothing too.

Once in the shower the steam clouded in his eyes, but it didn’t stop him from appreciating the water roll off Jihoon’s body, cascading down his hair, and making him look irresistible.

“Bend over.” The shorter demanded and Soonyoung raised his eyebrows. Jihoon rolled his eyes. “I meant so I can wash your hair.” He held up the shampoo bottle.

Soonyoung laughed and did as he was told. Relaxing at Jihoon’s touch in his hair. But soon the relaxation turned into arousal at the thought of how intimate they were being.

When it was his turn to help Jihoon he let his hands wander over the other's toned body but Jihoon stopped him again.

“I-” His face was red from both the heat of the water and his embarrassment. “I want to make you feel good.”

Soonyoung felt himself grow hard at the words. He nodded and placed his back against the cold tile wall.

Jihoon got to his knees and Soonyoung groaned when he felt the other’s hands on his thighs. He watched as Jihoon made little kisses on his skin until he reached the base of his dick. He looked up at Soonyoung for permission and the latter ran a hand through his wet hair to tell him it was okay.

He moaned when Jihoon’s wet mouth, contrasting with the water of the shower, covered his cock. The sounds were sinful. Jihoon worked slow at first, which drove Soonyoung absolutely crazy. He thread his hands through Jihoon’s hair to let him know he was doing a good job. That signaled Jihoon to pick up his pace. Eventually he started bobbing his head, using his hands to stroke at whatever he couldn't fit in his mouth.

Soonyoung’s moans filled the enclosed bathroom. The sight of Jihoon on his knees with wet hair with his dick in his pretty mouth drove Soonyoung close to the edge. When they made eye contact Soonyoung moaned his name. “Jihoon, I’m close.” After a few more minutes he heard his own breathing stutter, felt the hum of Jihoon's moans on his length, and his body shake as pleasure washed over him. He warned Jihoon by tugging on his hair who removed his mouth and finished with his hands. Soonyoung moaned loudly, releasing all over the other's face.

Jihoon stood, Soonyoung’s cum washing off as he turned his face to the water.

Soonyoung hugged his love, feeling how hard and neglected the other one was. He shut the water off. “Why don’t we finish this in your room?” He whispered.

Jihoon kissed him, lust clouding his eyes.

Soonyoung may have been a broken prince in the past, but Jihoon came into his life and fixed him, claiming him king.

Soonyoung may be a king, but tonight he was going to treat Jihoon like royalty.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> F I N A L L Y! Soonhoon is together, you now know why Soonyoung hates the song "King", and you finally got to smut you may (probably not) have been waiting for. P.S. sorry if this feels a little rushed? I didn't edit so I'm sorry if my wording is poor T_T
> 
> I'm going to go watch some wholesome videos now because I feel like I've sinned.
> 
> Next chapter will also be intense and well...yeah just anticipate.
> 
> Thank you for the love <3


	15. I Am Your Future, This is My Past

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy belated Valentine's day and Carat day!
> 
> Title based off of an English translation of lyrics from the Chinese version of "My I" by Jun and The8
> 
> Anyways, Soonyoung plays cupid, Junhao talk, and Joshua is pissed off. Enjoy!

“But I _hate_ pink.”

“Well too bad it’s one of our frat colors! Just wear it, everyone will like it.”

“But I only want one person to like it…” Mingyu mumbled.

Minghao sighed and straightened the collar on his best friend’s pale pink shirt. “Talk to him, Gyu. You can’t just ignore him forever.” He stepped back and looked in the mirror at the both of them.

“I could say the same to you.” Mingyu turned and adjusted the watch on his wrist that Minghao insisted he wore.

“Jun and I talk.” The fashionista walked over to his side of the room again and started trying on different pairs of glasses. “I told him I’d wait until he was ready. And what have you done, avoid Wonwoo?” He tisked. Mingyu realized he neglected to tell Minghao about the Soonyoung and Jihoon rescue mission. “It’s been a couple of months now Gyu.”

Mingyu hated that he was right. Even the brief time with Wonwoo in the car had been full of tension. “I need a cupid to help me out.”

Valentine’s day on the SKUA campus meant the school’s annual Valentine’s dance. Normally these sort of school run events were cheesy and deemed an awkward middle school or high school disaster, but the college for some reason went all out. People dress up and participate in the festivities including chocolate making, an open bar for students above 21, a fashion show, and dancing. Greek life organizations always competed in the fashion show and Mingyu got roped into it this year as Seungcheol insisted he and Minghao could win.

Minghao wore a pink jumpsuit that Mingyu figured only his best friend could pull off. Each of them adorned makeup also done by Minghao.

“Minty G and Hao-Z looking freshhh!” Seungcheol exclaimed when they both arrive at the school’s ballroom, raising a glass of champagne to them. Mingyu wasn’t even aware the college had a ballroom.

“ _Hyung_ please don’t call us that.” He grumbled.

Seungcheol laughed. “Lighten up, Mingyu.” He nodded at the open bar. “If you guys win I’m sure I can find a way to snag you guys something.”

Mingyu watched the fraternity’s president, probably already tipsy, dance away to where some people from Tau Pi were standing. He watched Seungcheol go up to Jeonghan and give him a kiss on the cheek.

“Oh?” Minghao asked, also watching. “Guess that’s a thing now?”

“So is that.” Mingyu nodded.

On the stage where the DJ booth was set up was Jihoon. As expected he took the paid offer to be the DJ of the event. The surprising thing that caught Mingyu’s attention was Jihoon with his head turned, lips locked in a passionate kiss with Soonyoung. When Soonyoung stepped back, Mingyu noticed he was wearing a burgundy suit with a little golden heart. He also sported a white feathered halo attached to a headband and matching wings. A microphone was in his hand.

“Why do I feel like we’re the only single ones?” Mingyu muttered also noticing Seungkwan and Vernon on the dance floor swaying together. He thought back to their conversation earlier. _Talk to him_.

“Because we’re both stupid.” Minghao said. “But I’m not as stupid as you, so I think I won't be single for long.”

Mingyu rolled his eyes. He found himself scanning the room, looking for one person in particular.

“Hello SKUA!” The music’s volume lowered a bit and Soonyoung’s voice was loud and clear. “Can I have all participants in the fashion show please come to the stage?”

Cheers erupted as different groups on campus in addition to Greek organizations chanted their prospective participant’s name.

“Just so you know, Seungcheol may be in your fraternity but he’s cheering me on.” Jeonghan told Mingyu and Minghao once they reached the stage. He was dressed in an elaborate white suit with a pair of matching white wings.

“Listen cupid, the only one who will be winning here is me.” Someone said and Mingyu turned around. Seungkwan stood, wearing suspenders and red plaid pants.

“I’m not cupid, I’m a dove.” Jeonghan frowned. “You know, like the mascot of Tau Pi? Also I think Soonyoung is supposed to be cupid.” He eyed the freshman. “The acapella club is making you participate?”

“Volleyball.” He said. “Seokmin- _hyung_ -” He looked around. “Well, Chan and I convinced him to join...but looks like he needed more persuading.” He nodded, noticing said brothers in the corner talking back and forth. Seokmin fiddling with his bow tie.

The fashion show was a strange tradition, which fit in with the nature of SKUA. It didn’t really serve a purpose besides making the dance more exciting and giving a group on campus more pride than they needed.

The show started and Jihoon switched to playing some deep house music to set the mood.

“First up we have the angel of Tau Pi, Jeonghan!” Soonyoung announced. The crowd cheered, Mingyu caught a glimpse of Seungcheol laughing and taking pictures.

Finally it was Mingyu’s turn to walk across the stage.

He was no professional model, but he’d seen Minghao practice his walk and make him take enough pictures to know how to pose.

People cheered his name when he walked out with his roommate. He stopped at the edge of the stage and tilted his head to the side and leaned a bit for a natural pose, body facing Minghao’s. "The faces of the Gamma!" His brothers were chanting.

He smiled, giving in to the attention. Until he spotted Wonwoo.

He turned his head slightly and saw the flash of a camera. The camera was lowered and there he was, looking handsome in a black dress shirt and dress pants with a red tie as the accent. His hair was styled away from his face, exposing his forehead. Mingyu would’ve liked to see Wonwoo walk across the stage.

Mingyu decided to brush his hands through his own hair, resulting in squeals from most of the sorority girls. He looked straight at Wonwoo while doing it, but the older was looking down, fiddling with his camera. He resisted the urge to pout and turned away as he and Minghao made their way back.

After a few more participants, Soonyoung called everyone back out on stage to announce the winner. It was done by vote of the student council who wasn’t partial to any of the groups.

By a shocking turn of events, Seokmin won, despite having nervously walked across the stage and tripping on his own two feet.

Regardless the crowd cheered and Mingyu was glad to see the boy give a genuine smile as he was adorned with a cheap crown and a bouquet of roses. He was handsome after all. Mingyu hoped this would calm down the always nervous boy.

Mingyu excused himself from his group of fraternity brothers after they came up to him and Minghao saying that they should’ve won. He walked over to the far wall where chairs were lined and he could observe the whole room. He sat down in a chair away from other people and ran a hand over his face.

“Good work out there, Gyu-bie!” He paused, hand still on his face. He spread them to form an opening and saw Soonyoung. The older’s hair was back to a normal shade of black, striking against his cupid get-up. “Care for some?” He held out a glass full of something pink to Mingyu.

He looked around making sure none of the staff noticed Soonyoung giving a minor alcohol, but no one seemed to care. He took the glass and raised it to his lips. “Thanks- _hyung_.”

Soonyoung sat down next to him shaking his head. “I wanted to thank you, actually.” He sipped his own drink and frowned. Mingyu guessed the rosé wasn’t sweet enough for him. “For coming with Wonwoo to help Jihoon and me.”

Mingyu tensed at Wonwoo’s name. “You’re welcome. I’m just glad you were okay.” He recalled Jihoon’s bruising face and Wonwoo checking his roommate’s forehead to see if he was sick.

“And I also wanted to explain something to you.” Soonyoung held his phone screen up to show Mingyu. The screen was off.

“There’s noth-”

_New message in the Night Sky app: Congratulations…_

Mingyu felt his own phone also notify him.

“How did you-?”

Soonyoung lowered his phone and shook his head. “I don’t know, I just had a feeling.” He looked across the room and Mingyu followed his gaze to Jihoon. “The night you came to save me, you didn’t really know why, right?”

Mingyu nodded. “I just...Wonwoo- _hyung_ needed help so I wanted to help him.”

Soonyoung smiled. “You did it for Wonwoo?”

Mingyu took a sip from his glass to hide his blush. “Well I mean, you and Jihoon- _hyung_ …”

The older chuckled, his eyes turning up to match his smile. “I know.” His expression changed once more, now reflecting sadness. “Actually, if it weren’t for this app you wouldn’t have had to save me.” Soonyoung proceeded to tell him the story of his ex-boyfriend and the love they used to have. He told him of the terrible things his ex made him do and of the trauma he got from a song.

Mingyu listened, understanding Soonyoung’s pain. His own feelings starting to bubble with anger. _He’ll hurt you. They all will_.

“And it stings.” Soonyoung was saying. “Because he was someone I loved and trusted.”

Mingyu ran a thumb over the scar on his left hand. “I know what you mean.”

Soonyoung turned to him. “And I didn’t think I could love like that again.” His eyes met Mingyu’s and he could see the seriousness in them. “Until I met Jihoon.”

“How…” He pondered over his question and decided he better ask before his thoughts could stop him. “How could you love someone without knowing they’ll hurt you?”

Soonyoung looked at him with sad eyes. “You can never know that, Gyu-bie. But that’s the beauty in love.” He looked back out at Jihoon, the DJ had his head down and his hands over his headphones, listening carefully. “It’s unexpected and sometimes tough, but brings you happiness.”

 _He’s lying_.

Mingyu gripped the glass in his hand a little harder.

“And I don’t know what’s happening between you and my roommate.” Soonyoung continued, Mingyu flinching in surprise. “But I do know he’s someone you can trust.” He nodded.

Mingyu looked up and saw Wonwoo walking in their direction.

“What is it Soonyoung?” The older asked, not looking at Mingyu.

Soonyoung stood and pushed the glass he had been drinking from in his friend’s hand. “Oh good, you finally put down your camera.”

“It’s charging.” Wonwoo mumbled, Mingyu realizing how strange the older looked without Nick.

“Well, why don’t you cheer Mingyu up, I told him my sad life story and he could use some company.” He grabbed Wowoo and shoved him into the chair next to Mingyu. “Thank you for listening to my story, Gyu-bie. See you guys around!”

“Wha-Soonyoung!” Wonwoo called after his roommate but the other was already running away, waving his arms at a dancing Seungkwan.

The two sat next to each other in silence, letting the music play around them.

Wonwoo took a sip from his glass and Mingyu couldn’t help but follow the movement with his eyes. The older made a face once he tasted it.

Mingyu couldn’t help but grin. “Not to your liking.”

Wonwoo set the glass on the side table. “If it’s not coffee or cheap beer I most likely won’t like it.”

Mingyu laughed, relieved that the tension was broken.

“Soonyoung told you about his past?”

Mingyu nodded. “I hate that he went through something like that.” He looked up at Wonwoo. “But I’m glad he found Jihoon.”

As if responding to his name, the music changed. A slow song came on and couples around them started to move onto the dance floor to dance together.

Mingyu felt his cheeks warm again. He set his own glass down. He wasn’t going to let the opportunity Soonyoung made for him go to waste. “Do you want to dance?” He held out a hand.

Wonwoo looked at the outstretched hand in surprise. Eventually Mingyu felt the weight of Wonwoo’s hand in his and they made their way to the dance floor.

“And what about you, any past that you told him?”

Mingyu liked the way Wonwoo had his arms wrapped around his shoulders. He liked the way his own hands were tucked around the older’s waist. It reminded him of the time on the beach. If only-

_Don’t tell him. He’ll hurt-_

Mingyu ignored the voice. He knew this would happen again. But he also knew he wanted to enjoy this moment with Wonwoo.

“No.” He answered. “I try not to focus on the past. The future is enough for me to worry about.”

He felt Wonwoo tighten his hold around his neck. “And what do you see in your future?”

Mingyu looked down and their eyes met. It was an innocent question but he knew there were many ways he could answer.

Over Wonwoo’s shoulder a movement caught his eye. Two people were walking towards the exit in a haste manner. He realized it was Minghao and Jun.

Mingyu looked back at Wonwoo. The older's eyebrows were knit together. He wanted nothing more than to make that worry go away.

He waited for the voices to warn him again. They didn’t come.

 _To understand which love is real_. His Night Sky goal flashed across his mind instead.

Maybe Soonyoung really was cupid.

“Love.” He answered finally. “I see a future filled with love.”

If only he could actually believe himself.

 

“So, what do you want to talk to me about?” Minghao asked, shoving his hands in the jumpsuit pockets to protect them from the cold night air.

“Um...well…” Jun shuffled his feet and looked away. Minghao hated how cute the older was acting. “I just thought we should talk considering we’re both part of the app.”

Moments before, Minghao’s phone notified him in the middle of their conversation that they were each other’s tenth REVEAL. As soon as they figured it out Jun grabbed Minghao’s hand and dragged him outside.

“Oh, so because an app told you we should talk you finally decided we should?” Minghao shouted, voice raised more than intended.

“Why are you so angry at me?” Jun asked, frowning.

“Because I’m tired of waiting, Jun.” He saw the other’s shoulders roll uncomfortably at his sudden outburst. “I’m sorry, I told you I’d wait but it hurts.” His mind flashed to a few moments ago when he tried to take Jun in his arms and dance with him but the older had slinked away. One moment Minghao felt everything was fine between them, the next Jun was skirting around again.  “Do you want us or not?”

It was a demanding question. It’s true meaning was _should I give up?_

“It’s not that I don’t want us.” Jun said, Minghao knew he was choosing his words carefully. “It’s that I want us more than you will ever know.” Jun wrapped his arms around himself as if it would block from the cold air. “It’s that I want us for a long, long time.”

And then Jun launched into his past. He spoke about his home life with his nanny and staff, Minghao rather surprised at the wealth of the other’s family. He listened to the story of Jun’s brother and the guilt the older experienced.

So that was why Jun was afraid to finish things. He was afraid of being scolded, afraid of not being able to change something once it was complete-

“-afraid that if I started something with you it would end.”

Minghao opened his mouth to protest but Jun wasn’t done.

“It’s endings I’m afraid of.” A tear was falling down his cheek. It glittered in the reflection of the moon. “I don’t want to believe my brother is gone.”

Minghao never felt more intimate with a person before. He used to open up to Mingyu like this, but when he realized his best friend wouldn’t do the same back, he stopped. He could never figure out why Mingyu wouldn’t share more with him.

“I’m sorry.” Minghao said softly, moving to take Jun’s face in his hands, hoping to warm it up. He wiped at the tear. “I know this is something that you don’t want to hear, but it’s the truth.” He looked into the other’s eyes. “Things will end, Jun. It’s inevitable. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t new beginnings. It means that you may never have closure on this one aspect of your life, but I hope it opens your heart.”

Jun sniffled. “Thank you.”

“And for the record, it won’t end. Us, I mean. I am your future.”

Jun’s eyes grew wide. “You want that? Even with my past?”

Minghao nodded, moving his face closer. “I think to start you need to be more confident about it. You have a past, all of us do, say it like you mean it.”

The older pressed his forehead against Minghao’s and closed his eyes. “I don’t think it’s easy to get over it...but for you...for you I want to try. This is my past.”

“And I am your future.”

Their lips met in a sweet kiss that contained all the emotions they both held back. Minghao’s was a promise that he would be there with Jun until the end while the latter’s was a declaration that he would try. He wanted this with Jun.

They stayed like that a bit longer, wrapped in each other’s arms, Jun told Minghao more stories about his past.

He was in the middle of one about the time he snuck out when he grabbed Minghao’s arm.

“Isn’t that C?” Jun asked.

Minghao turned his head and saw a girl in a dress with a familiar trench coat walking across the lawn. To an even bigger surprise he watched as the girl approached a boy dressed in a gray suit.

“With Joshua- _hyung_?” Minghao frowned. “Maybe they’re dating?”

He and Jun both knew if there was a connection to the app there was no coincidence.

Joshua seemed to look a little angry, with his arms folded. C was talking frantically with wide gestures of her arms. After a few more moments the two of them looked around, apparently not seeing Minghao and Jun, then set off at a brisk pace away from the ballroom.

Minghao raised his eyebrows and looked at Jun.

“Maybe we shouldn’t…”

“Or maybe we _should_.” Jun started walking after them.

The curiosity in Minghao agreed and he followed.

The pair tracked behind the other two for almost ten minutes as they walked across campus. It was hard to hear their conversation as they tried to keep their distance.

Finally, C and Joshua disappeared into the social science building.

Minghao and Jun followed.

Neither of them went to this particular building often as their majors were focused more on the arts. However Minghao visited it a few times when he would appear in film major’s projects. Why the film department was in a social science building confused Minghao.

They saw the two people they were pursuing board an elevator so Jun motioned they should use the stairs.

After confusingly getting off one floor below, they finally caught up with C and Joshua as they disappeared into an office at the end of the hall.

Minghao and Jun approached it slowly, hearing voices.

“Do you know that this is _illegal_?” They heard Joshua ask.

“It’s not illegal, we have explicit permission from the school to conduct this experiment using the proposal we submitted which included these actions.” C responded.

Minghao got onto all fours and started crawling, motioning for Jun to do the same. They both sat with their backs below the glass windows looking into the office so they could hear the conversation and not get caught.

Minghao realized their conversation was about the app.

“He could get hurt.” Joshua said, his voice sounded flat and very unlike his usual gentle self.

“You think I don’t know that!” C snapped. Minghao heard her sigh. “I don’t know how much longer we can keep this up without him getting suspicious.”

“Well what did Dr. Han say?”

 _Dr. who?_ Minghao looked at Jun who just shook his head in equal confusion.

“He’s the one who came up with this idea.”

“Oh, just like he’s the one who came up with the brilliant idea to make Soonyoung meet up with his ex-boyfriend who _raped_ him?” Joshua’s raised voice boomed.

Minghao’s eyes widened. Jun must have also been shocked as he grabbed onto Minghao’s hand suddenly. The younger held on tightly.

“We should be reporting this!”

“We don’t have proof!” C shouted back. “We...look. I don’t want to see any of you hurt, believe it or not. But Soonyoung made the decision on his own accord to go see his ex-boyfriend.”

“Because the app told him to! Because they’re being forced to do these things! Do you think Seungkwan wanted us to send that picture to his father? No, he didn’t have a choice, this _fucking_ app did it. Do you think Jun wanted to be reminded of his missing brother? No! This app made him feel guilty to the point he wouldn't allow himself to have a relationship!”

“Hong, calm down…”

Minghao felt Jun squeeze his hand as a loud sound made both of them jump. Joshua must have slapped his hands down on the desk. “I _hope_ you’re happy, Diamond. This experiment certainly hasn't made anyone else happy.”

“Hong, where are you going?” C asked, footsteps moving around the room. “You know you need this money!”

They heard Joshua stop short.

“You need this project just as much as I do.” C said. “For your mother.”

“ _Don’t_ talk about my family.”

“You need the money to save your mother I need it to save myself.” C said. “We’re no different. None of us are.”

“You’re wrong. This isn’t about me or you. It’s about Mingyu.”

Minghao’s ears perked at his best friend’s name.

“This whole experiment is about him. We’re all just planets in Han’s solar system and Mingyu is the sun.”

_What the hell are they talking about?_

“What should we do then?”

Joshua didn’t say anything for a minute, the silence indicating his thinking. “We’ll do it under one condition.”

“What?”

“Let me give Minghao a new end goal.”

Minghao frowned, hearing his name and not understanding what Joshua meant felt unsettling.

“You know we can’t-”

“ _Bullshit_ , Diamond. We both know some of these goals were complete bullshit.”

 _To express curiosity_. That was Minghao’s end goal. He hated to agree with Joshua, but he did. He was always curious, his many hobbies showcased that. Had he been included in the project because it apparently revolved around Mingyu?

He felt a tug on his hand and looked at Jun. The older was motioning they should leave before they got caught.

Back outside they stood against the brick wall of the building looking up at the stars. It was so cold that when Minghao let out a breath he could see it.

“You were right.” Jun muttered, low enough Minghao could hardly hear it. “C is being controlled just like we all are.”

Minghao nodded in agreement. “Whoever this Dr. Han guy is sounds dangerous. I admit I’ve been through far less than some of you have, but it only sounds like something worse will happen.”

As if on cue Minghao’s phone vibrated.

He pulled his hand out of Jun’s temporarily to open it.

 **_Elegant Purpose:_ ** _You have a new end goal: Protect Mingyu._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Valentine's dances are most definitely not a thing, right? At least they aren't at my college. But I wanted to include a dance.
> 
> Finally Junhao are together, that only leaves one couple right?...RIGHT? [Here](https://twitter.com/fre_fics/status/1096984611429728259) are moodboards I made for Junhao based off of my fic btw. 
> 
> Yes Joshua, go off. But um whatever you just agreed to do...please don't?
> 
> I hope I'm not boring anyone or turning readers away with my convoluted plot that was much more complex than I planned for this fic. 
> 
> Anyways, if you are still reading thank you! <3


	16. Of Other Moons

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know when a chapter is titled after the title of the entire fic shit will go down...It does.

“Hello? Earth to Wonwoo? You’re filming my feet.”

Wonwoo blinked rapidly and looked down at his camera to see wiggling toes in the playback. “Wha-oh, sorry.” He turned the camera away from Jihoon’s appendages and pointed it back at Soonyoung and Jun. 

Jihoon raised his eyebrows in a quizzical look but Wonwoo wasn’t paying attention. His mind was too busy turning over in thoughts of someone else. 

It has been about a month since Mingyu told him he saw love in his future, basically confessing to Wonwoo. At the time the older’s heart pounded a lot faster than the music at the dance. Since then Wonwoo found they would do all of the average couple-esque activities. They went on dates, texted each other good morning and goodnight, and even had intense make out sessions when one of their roommates was out. Everything was going swimmingly.

So why did Wonwoo still feel very unsettled about their relationship? Maybe it was the fact they never actually stated what their relationship was and what they were to each other. 

Or maybe it was the looming existence of a nightmare-like app. 

Earlier this morning he got another task.  _ Tell him how you really feel _ . It was still nerve-wracking to Wonwoo that the app and C knew so much about his personal life.

“Whew! Alright that’s a wrap today team!” Wonwoo heard Soonyoung say to the dance team. He was asked to film their practice today so Soonyoung could look back on it and see what needed to be revised. 

Jihoon stood to give Soonyoung a towel and water bottle and the taller of the two tried to thank his boyfriend with a kiss. Jihoon swatted his arms and wriggled out of his grasp, clearly embarrassed because most of the dance team was still in the room.

Wonwoo sighed. He was happy for his roommate. Soonyoung grew up with a terrible past but overcame it and eventually found love, real love that helped him dance with true purpose. Wonwoo wondered if he could do the same.

The door opened as dance team members left and two other people walked in. 

Wonwoo trained the camera on Minghao as he snuck his way over to where Jun had his eyes closed and was stretching.

“Boo!” Minghao grabbed onto Jun’s waist suddenly.

“Ungh-!” Jun made a noise of surprise. His fist was raised in a reflexive motion. When he saw who it was he instantly softened and leaned into the touch.

Minghao back hugged him and they looked in the mirror. “Surprise.”

“What are you guys doing here?” Jun asked to both Minghao and Mingyu, who had entered with his roommate. 

Wonwoo finally looked at Mingyu and noticed he was carrying two lunchboxes in his hands. “Thought I’d pick you up and we’d go on a little picnic.” He smiled.

Wonwoo felt his stomach turn in delight at the thought of Mingyu preparing a cute romantic surprise.

“Where’s my picnic?” Jun playfully asked Minghao.

“I was thinking we go out tonight?” Minghao said into Jun’s ear. “After you shower of course.”

Jun pushed him and Wonwoo couldn’t help but be jealous at the sight of those two flirting. Mingyu flirt with him shamelessly, but ever since the events at the beach and after rekindling their relationship at the dance, there was a change. Mingyu still showed affection towards him, but it felt different and Wonwoo couldn't pinpoint why. 

“Get a room you guys!” Mingyu joked. He looked down at Wonwoo and held out a hand to help him to his feet. “A night under the stars awaits you.”

Wonwoo took his hand and rolled his eyes. “Whatever you say, Romeo.” He let Mingyu pull him up quickly and suddenly their faces were inches apart. His heart thumped. There were of course still moments like this though, where Wonwoo fell into the younger boy's charm.

“Hey you.” Mingyu’s eyelids lowered and he bit his lip.

Wonwoo had his hands on the taller’s chest. He closed his eyes, waiting for their lips to meet. 

But they didn’t meet. Instead he got a kiss to his forehead. A motion that made Wonwoo melt a little. Maybe he didn’t have anything to worry about.

The night was pleasantly warm so Mingyu insisted on having a picnic with just the two of them. The surprise was a cute gesture even if Mingyu did forget a blanket so they ended up sitting on their jackets. He did cook Wonwoo’s favorite ramen which made up for it.

They made small talk while they ate. Mingyu’s public speaking persuasive speech went well, Wonwoo has another deadline for his documentary coming up, Minghao made Mingyu be his photography project subject-comfortable topics.

It was the moment when Mingyu was laughing over Wonwoo’s story about Soonyoung stealing the last yogurt in their fridge that something in Wonwoo moved.

The moon was reflected in the water, casting a glow around Mingyu. His smile was bright, his eyes sparkling. He was just being himself, but he looked beautiful.

Wonwoo stopped the younger’s laugh with a kiss. Mingyu tasted of the lemonade they shared. It was a sweet kiss that Wonwoo hoped expressed his feeligns. He wanted to do this with Mingyu forever. 

_ Tell him how you really feel _ .

He pulled back and braced himself.

“I love you, Mingyu.” Wonwoo could feel his pulse quickening. He’d said it. He listened to the app. “I know we’ve been on and off and always skirting around each other, but I don’t want that anymore. I’m really selfish when it comes to you. Whenever those sorority girls go to your events and hold signs up I get jealous and want to tell them I’m the only support you need. I want to be the only one that makes you smile under the moonlight like now. I want to be the only one who holds your hand and kisses you and...does other stuff with you. I’m so in love with you, Mingyu. I’m in love with everything I know about you and I can’t wait to know more.”

Wonwoo finally breathed. He had held back his feelings for so long everything was finally being let out. Maybe this app wasn’t so bad. It pushed him to confess. Maybe now they could be a real couple without Wonwoo feeling so uneasy. He looked at Mingyu and hoped his embarrassment wasn’t visible.

Instead he saw a sad, almost shattered, look on the younger’s face.

“Um, no I’m sorry I didn’t mean-”  _ Shit _ . Wonoo started to panic. Night Sky pushed him to do this. He didn’t realize the younger might not be ready.

A tear slipped down Mingyu’s cheek. Wonwoo’s eyes widened. He wanted to reach out and wipe it but he didn’t understand what was happening. He keep his hands at his sides.

“Thank you, Wonwoo.” Mingyu sniffled. “I-” He didn’t finish. Wonwoo watched as the younger flinched and he grabbed his own hand as if someone had zapped him.

“Mingyu, are you okay? I’m sorry if you-”

“No!” Mingyu protested. His face suddenly twisted as if he was hurt. “I...I…”

Wonwoo grew concerned. It was happening again. This was like what happened at the beach when they kissed. Except this time it looked worse.

“Mingyu I’m sorry if I scared you-You don’t have to respond to me…”

“It’s not that!” Mingyu shouted. “I...I love you too.” He said so softly Wonwoo thought he was imagining it.

He froze. He should be happy, ecstatic. The boy he loved, loved him back. But why did the boy currently look so in pain?

“You do?” Wonwoo whispered.

Mingyu nodded but tears were still spilling down his cheeks. 

“Then why are you crying? If you love me then we can be togeth-”

“We can’t be together, Wonwoo.” Mingyu cut him off. 

“And  _ why _ not?” Wonwoo clenched his fists so tightly they resembled paper.

“ _ Because _ ,” There was a pained look in Mingyu’s face. His eyes were dark. “We may be under the same night sky...but we’re of other moons.”

The moon reflected in the lake moved as a bird took off from the water at that exact moment. Its shimmering image didn’t quite match the real one in the sky. Ironic.

Wonwoo stared at the boy he loved in equal pain and sadness. “I don’t understand…”

Mingyu’s face was wet and contorted in despair. Wonwoo wanted to do nothing more than to wipe away both the tears and the hurt. He didn’t. “Maybe fate brought us together," Minyu continued, his voice shaky. "But like two people from different planets, under different moons, we shouldn’t be together. We’re of other moons.”

Wonwoo couldn’t believe what he was hearing. It made no sense to him. “Don’t tell me this!” He grit his teeth, suddenly angry. “You did this last time too." They both knew he was referring to the Thanksgiving beach trip. "Don’t make me feel like we finally can have something between us only to tell me we can't. If we love each other, shouldn't that be enough?"

Mingyu shook his head. His eyes were closed now. "I wish it were. I'm sorry this keeps happening." Wonwoo's heart ached. Mingyu sounded so  _defeated_ but Wonwoo's frustration kept him from sympathizing. "I can't explain it myself, but something- _someone_ is telling me this isn't right. That  _you're_ not right."

Wonwoo would've preferred if Mingyu had punched him in the face.

He stood, pulling his jacket off the ground. "Well I don't know who the hell told you that. But I wished you'd made your own damn decisions."

Wonwoo left, walking away as quickly as possible.

He pulled out his phone to call Soonyoung. He needed someone to rant to.

_ You have a new message in the Night Sky app. _

Not now. He tried to dismiss it but instead the app opened.

**_C:_**   _So, how did it go? Think you're getting closer to achieving your goal?_

_Your Night Sky goal: To discover stability._

Wonwoo had never felt more unstable in his life.

 

Mingyu was alone. 

It could be the fact it was raining outside. And it was the wee hour of 5:34AM. And it was a Sunday. 

But none of those things mattered.

He  _ wanted _ to be alone.

Mingyu’s phone was unlocked, water droplets rolling off the screen because he forgot an umbrella.

His endless texts to Wonwoo were displayed.  _ Wonwoo-hyung, I’m sorry. It’s not what you think. I’m sorry I can’t explain. Because I’m not really sure myself. Please answer me. Please. _

There were no replies to any of the messages and no response to his calls. He remembered bursting into his dorm room last night with tears in his eyes, Minghao and Jun were half playing video games and half making out. That didn’t stop his best friend from jumping to his feet and asking what was wrong.

Jun left out of respect and Mingyu sat there crying to Minghao explaining everything that happened. It was finally around 2 in the morning when Mingyu calmed down enough and Minghao went to sleep.

But Mingyu didn’t sleep a wink. After tossing and turning for almost three hours and fighting the voice in his head, he finally got up and went out for a run.

It wasn’t originally raining hence his lack of umbrella or waterproof clothing, but his lack of body heat was helping him to think about something else.

His phone buzzed. When he glanced down and saw it wasn’t from Wonwoo he ignored it. It kept buzzing. Who was contacting at him at this hour?

Suddenly the rain stopped. 

No wait it didn’t stop. Mingyu glanced up, a clear umbrella blocked the water.

“If you catch a cold he’s going to be furious.”

Holding the umbrella, and also a matching one for her own protection, was a girl. She had long dark hair, a mask covering her nose and mouth, dark eyes, and a trench coat.

“Um...What?” Mingyu blinked at her. Was she another one of the sorority girls?

“Take it.” She shoved the umbrella into his hand.

“Thanks…” He watched her step back. “Uh...do I know you?”

She reached into the pocket of her coat and pulled out something. 

“You would if you checked your damn phone.” The girl held out what looked like a pamphlet.

“I’m not interested in-”

He froze noticing what was written on the cover.  _ PLEDIS _ .

“Kim Mingyu, aka  **_Gentle Stone_ ** , nice to meet you. I’m C.”

Mingyu jumped to his feet, startling C. “ _ What _ !?” He now realized that all of those notifications had been from the app. C was his next REVEAL.

She rolled her eyes. “Calm down.” C nodded down at the pamphlet. “I’m sure you’ve heard about this project by other members involved.”

He nodded. “Can you explain my end goal please?” He blurted.

C narrowed her eyes. “You still don’t get it?”

Mingyu bit his lip. “I-I  _ thought _ I did. Last night…” He didn’t know why he was suddenly telling this to a stranger. Then again this stranger had ruled over his life for months now and probably knew all about his love life. “Last night a boy told me he loved me.” He started to feel dizzy, recalling Wonwoo’s face. “And I knew it was different. He told me he loved me and what I felt was different from all the others that have told me. I thought I finally understood.” He shivered feeling goosebumps. His wet hoodie clung to his arms. “I thought I finally understand that his love was real.” 

C’s face remained uninterested. 

“And then...And then it happened  _ again _ .”

“What happened again?” She asked.

“I...I can’t explain it. I don’t know what it is. But it’s like...whenever I start to feel happy and think I might actually love someone, I suddenly have this internal battle.” He felt like he sounded crazy, but he needed to say it. “I start to feel really lonely, my...my hand hurts for some reason" He brushed a finger along the scar on his left hand. "And I hear this voice. It always tells me that I’ll only get hurt, that the person won’t love me back. They’ll leave me.” He was shaking now. “I thought this was over! I’m tired of being from another moon!” 

“Moon? Your hand? A voice?” C frowned. “What are you talking about?”

“The voice-it sounds like…” His eyes widened, was he sweating? “It sounds like the doctor’s voice.” He hadn’t heard that voice since he called the doctor at the beach. He felt himself sway. 

_ Well if you managed to push someone away again, I want to congratulate you. _

“Mingyu.” C stepped forward. “I think you have a fever.”

He blinked, trying hard to concentrate. Black dots started to fill his vision. “What? No...I’m fine. I need to call the doctor.”

“Yeah, I agree.” Mingyu felt C grab onto his arm to support his weight. 

“No...no... not that doctor. I-I gotta call Dr.Han.” His vision started to get even darker and his head was filled with lead. "I gotta tell him to-to fix me." He slumped against C.

The last thing he heard before going unconscious was C mumble, “Me too.”

And then Mingyu fell victim to sleep deprivation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mingyu, I'm sorry. Readers, I'm sorry. This chapter was a little on the shorter side but there are answers coming.
> 
> In case anyone was wondering, I have officially decided this fic will be 20 chapters long (hence the change). Which means 4 chapters left!
> 
> Thank you to those that have read this far. Knowing people are enjoying my work motivates me to keep writing. I hope you all anticipate the last few chapters! <3
> 
> (P.S. Wonwoo has been seriously bias wrecking me...I'm gonna need you to sTAy iN YOuR LaNE sIR. Sincerely, a very loyal Soonyoung stan)


	17. The Truth? It Always Hurts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't realize how much I made the boys suffer in this fic...and my readers...have I said I'm sorry?

Jun should’ve known something was going to happen when he met Vernon for his REVEAL and the younger told him about his concerns for Mingyu. Apparently he was skipping out on fraternity events recently. He should’ve known that being bold enough to finally have a relationship with Minghao wouldn’t mean the app had no more purpose. There are always more nightmares after good dreams.

He should’ve known the truth would hurt. It always does.

It started when Minghao pulled Jun aside during a dance team rehearsal. The team was planning on submitting a video to a competition in Korea where Soonyoung had connections because he was in that music video. It was an important rehearsal.

“Hao, if you pulled me aside to make out with you...I appreciate it but I’m in the middle of practice.” Jun gestured to the rest of the team who stopped to take a break after Minghao burst in. He made quite the scene that Soonyoung had to call for five.

Minghao pecked his boyfriend’s lips one more time then stepped out of his grasp. “I wish that was the only reason.” He took his backpack off and pulled out a large book bound with a hard cover. It looked like a yearbook. “This is important though.”

“Important enough to interrupt our practice?” Soonyoung asked, walking over to peer at what was in Minghao’s hand.

“Yes.” He opened the book. “This is about _the app_.”

Jun frowned and looked to Soonyoung. The dance leader sighed. “Give us five minutes and I’ll end early.”

After everyone left Jun went back up to his waiting boyfriend.

“So?”

Soonyoung joined, gulping water from a bottle.

Minghao opened the book and pulled out something that bookmarked the page. It was the PLEDIS pamphlet.

“A month ago Joshua- _hyung_ told me my new goal was to protect Mingyu. I’ve kept a close eye on him and nothing seemed terribly wrong. I’m sure you both heard about what happened yesterday.”

Jun was there when Mingyu burst into their room. Soonyoung was Wonwoo’s roommate. They both knew.

“Anyways, I got a call this morning from C.”

Jun raised his eyebrows. Luckily they all knew about each other's involvement in the app due to the chart, so they weren't breaking any rules.

“What did she want?” Soonyoung asked.

“Mingyu’s an idiot and he fainted. Don’t worry he’s at wellness now getting rest.” Minghao said before both of them could get overly concerned. “But she came by to give me his headphones and wallet and this.” He waved the pamphlet.

“We all get one when we meet C.” Soonyoung noted.

“Yes, but none of us got one like Mingyu’s.” He passed the paper over to Jun.

When the older opened it he frowned. It looked the same as everyone else’s. Gray, blue, white, and yellow; the color scheme that matched the app. An explanation for PLEDIS was written on the first panel on the inside:

_Have you always wanted to lead a life of excitement? Are you hoping to achieve something big? No fear, project life enhancement depicting individual satisfaction is here! Some people may question, what is life? Everything you’ll ever want is in this project. Only a select few participate, so you should feel lucky to be chosen. Night Sky is the platform that will introduce you to these life enhancements. Given the rules, you shall find yourself wanting more tasks to accomplish more things. Satisfaction is your end goal. Understand, that with your participation, one day we can make many others satisfied with this project and for that we thank you._

Jun looked over at the next two panels and saw they were different from what he’d seen in his own. It started off the same way, with an explanation of the app. Then halfway through it changed into an apology letter written by C.

_-the app will serve as-now that there has been enough of a uniform look I can do this. First, Mingyu I am sorry. You may not understand so let me start at the beginning. This project means no harm, so if it has caused you distress or pain in any way I apologize. When this project was first initiated I tried to do everything to make sure you and the other participants were guaranteed satisfaction in the end. The purpose of the whole thing is to act as an introduction. I owe you much more of an apology but thought this was a good way to establish my apology. I will help you. I mean what I said. Word by word._

“What does this even mean?” Jun asked, finally done reading it.

“I thought it was weird too right? Why did she signal him out? Why was she there with Mingyu when he passed out?” Minghao fired question after question.

“Why was she there when Jihoon saved me from…?” Soonyoung trailed off, but the other two understood.

Jun had to admit it was suspicious.

“Look.” Minghao took the pamphlet back. “I don’t know why but C has a special interest in Mingyu. She’s warning him.” He pointed at one of the lines of the letter. “There are a lot of words in this one section that mean start or begin. I kept reading the entire pamphlet over and over.” He rummaged in his bag for a pen then uncapped it with his teeth, handing it to Jun. “Then it hit me. ‘Word by word’, C wrote. Circle the first letter of each word on the first panel.”

Jun did. "Hao, you're a genius!"

"I'm not _just_ good looking and fashionable." He winked.

Jun rolled his eyes and looked at the result of the letters. “Ha-han...Seong-su?”

“A name?” Soonyoung asked. “Is that C’s Korean name?” Did Diamond have a Korean name?

Minghao shook his head and turned the book he’d been holding to face them. “The name sounded familiar to me. I was wracking my brain trying to figure it out but then I remembered this.”

Across the top of the page were the words “Founders of Gamma Alpha Upsilon 1989”. Pictures of men Jun didn’t recognize stared back at him spread out across the page. Finally his eyes landed on one person above the name Han Seong-su. He looked like the standard college guy for his time. His awkward smile and glasses didn’t really fit into the fraternity image in Jun’s mind.

“He was one of our founders!” Minghao exclaimed.

Jun folded his arms in thought. “I don’t get it. You’re suggesting C was warning Mingyu about one of the founders of your frat?”

“I don’t know the relation, but I thought it was weird she had to disguise it.” He closed the book. “This is part of the Gamma files. I asked Seungcheol- _hyung_ for it. I was planning on asking him more about the founders and the frat, but I wanted to show you guys first.”

“Well what are we waiting for? Let’s go figure out what the hell this means.”

“You guys go ahead.” Soonyoung said. “I have to meet Jihoon. He’s recording with Seungkwan and Seokmin and knowing him, he hasn’t eaten yet. Please keep me updated!”

After they left Soonyoung, Minghao tugged on Jun’s hand. “There’s one more thing I forgot to mention. Seungcheol- _hyung_ hasn’t met C yet. I don't think he even knows she's part of the REVEALs."

“Ugh." Jun groaned. "I'm done with these rules. Besides, I don’t think holding back information from him will help our case.” He pointed out. “And, the more he knows the better.” He said, remembering the older’s fear of the unknown.

“Alright.” Minghao squeezed Jun’s hand. “But maybe he doesn’t want to know the truth. It might hurt.”

 

“Ow, ow, Vernon that hurts!”

“Sorry.”

Jun never thought he’d spend his Friday night in the basement of the Gamma Alpha Upsilon fraternity house, but here he was.

Vernon was currently balancing on Seungcheol’s locked hands to reach something on a tall bookshelf. Apparently the frat didn’t own a ladder. Seungcheol got rid of it after an “incident”.

The basement wasn’t a dusty cellar like Jun had expected it to be. In fact it looked like a nice converted library. Seungcheol explained that they kept the door to the basement locked during parties because a lot of their fraternity’s relics and secret information was stored there and only brothers were allowed to see these things-whatever that meant. Minghao convinced Seungcheol to let Jun help for this condition. The only out of place thing in the basement was an area off to the side that served as a laundry room.

“Should we be looking for something specific?” Jun asked. He was sitting at a wooden table looking through books and papers, putting a sticky note on anything that had the name Han Seong-su. So far he'd only found fraternity pictures and songs...why did fraternities have songs?

“Anything about his connection to PLEDIS.” Minghao called from near the washer. He closed the door to the machine and started it up. Jun watched as his boyfriend made his way back to one of the couches and started browsing on his laptop.

“ _Hyung_ ,” Jun called to Seungcheol. “Can you tell me about your founders? I know it’s confidential but…”

“It’s fine, this is a little more important than some Greek life superstition.” He and Vernon went over to the table to sit with Jun.

“The founders of Gamma Alpha Upsilon.” Vernon opened the book that Minghao had earlier. “There were twelve of them.” Having just been initiated in, Vernon still had his fraternity’s history freshly memorized, unlike Minghao who forgot everything hence why they sought help.

“Apparently they were a group of friends who met here at college back in the late 80’s.” Vernon continued. “Han Seong-Su was their president.”

“How did they meet?” Jun asked. “And why did they form the frat?”

Vernon looked to Seungcheol. The current president flipped open another book, one more dusty than the others, that Vernon had grabbed on the top shelf. “Our motto is ‘bounce to what’s good, forever brotherhood’, which kind of confused me at first, but apparently it’s been changed since they established the frat.” He showed Jun a page. On it, written in ink, was a sort of list. “This is the first journal of the Gamma. It looks like this was their thought process and previous motto.”

_In secrecy and in satisfaction, forever brotherhood._

Jun raised his eyebrows. “Satisfaction?” He disliked the lack of rhyme but felt it wasn't important to bring up.

Seungcheol frowned. “Come to think of it, I’m not sure how the brothers met. But I know they were formed as a group that aims to strengthen bonds and celebrate life’.” He cleared his throat. “At least that’s what this book says.”

“Han Seong-su.” Minghao interrupted, turning the heads of the other three boys. “Class of ‘91. Bachelors in Psychology, graduated with honors. President and founder of Gamma Alpha Upsilon local fraternity.” He read off of his laptop’s screen as he walked over to the table and set it down. “It says here he was an exchange student from South Korea.”

Jun peered over Minghao’s shoulder to look at the screen too. “How do you know this?”

“The internet is magical, my dear Junhui.” He winked at the older then kept reading. “He went on to graduate school back at SKUA’s sister school in Seoul.”

“We have a sister school?” Vernon asked.

Minghao nodded. “He got a PhD in behavioral psychology and loved the school so much he became a professor and researcher at the same location. He’s been doing that ever since.”

Seungcheol chimed in, he held his phone and turned the screen towards them. “I know this is stupid, but have any of us tried googling PLEDIS? I think I found something but it’s in Chinese.”

Jun took the phone, translating aloud. “It’s an article from 2014 about...an arrest?” His eyes scanned the page. “Dr. Fan Hua, a researcher psychologist for the Department of Human Resources in Beijing, has been charged with a felony. According to police, in 2012 he traveled around China in search of the ‘perfect participant’ for his experiment; a behavioral and social study titled PLEDIS.”

“Wait a second,” Minghao peered over his boyfriend’s shoulder. “I heard about this. It was on all over the news in Liaoning. I was already in Korea, at the foster home but I read about it online.”

“I didn’t hear about it.” Jun frowned. He was in China then, still in high school.

“Guangdong is far from Beijing,” Minghao said. “Maybe there was more important news.”

“Wait, there was _another_ PLEDIS?” Vernon asked. “In China?”

Jun scanned the article some more. “It doesn’t talk about the project being in Korea or in the United States.” That didn't help their case.

“Police say a janitor found a door at Dr. Hua’s lab unlocked one day and was shocked to find-” Minghao’s eyes widened. “12 children living in small bunks within the lab. Each looked too thin and many bore scars on their hands. Apparently the experiment used electric shocks to try to condition the children to...not be able to love?" He paused. "Many of the children developed PTSD and seemed to even be amnesiac to their life before they were taken, forgetting their loved ones. Most could not identify who they were. Police claim Hua gathered children unhappy with their familial situation. Following are the victims:”

As soon as Jun flicked his finger to view the images of the children he froze.

The children were anywhere from as young as 8 years old to late high school years.They all looked sullen and mistreated. Jun’s heart broke for them.

But the real reason he froze was because of one certain picture.

“Jun, what’s wrong?” Seungcheol asked.

Jun felt Minghao place a hand on his arm for comfort. He continued to stare at the picture. There was no mistaking who it was. “It’s...it’s my brother.”

As soon as the words left his lips a wave of emotion overcame him. His hand flew to his mouth, dropping the phone. His eyes started moving back and forth and he felt his heartbeat quicken.

“ _What?_ ” Minghao picked up the phone.

“My-my brother…” It made so much sense. Jun’s brother disappeared almost seven years ago, in 2012. His parents and nanny were upset about the disappearance and there were search parties all over Guangdong. The wealth of his parents led them to even hired detectives in Hong Kong to take on the investigation. They turned up with nothing.

All those years...all those years he suffered. He was suffering and Jun had no idea. Dr. Hua conditioned his brother to forget the ones he loved. The truth really did hurt.

“Wha-” He forced himself to shake out of his shocked state. “Where are they now?”

Minghao grabbed the phone. “It only says the children underwent treatment to get better. Many of them still have not been claimed by their families.” He rubbed Jun’s arm to relax him. “It says those that were not recognized were placed in orphanages.”

Jun gave Minghao a look that twisted the younger’s heart.

“He’s still alive.” Jun’s voice choked. He was crying, tears were slowly forcing their way out of his eyes in both sadness and relief. He could find his brother. He could finish something.

Minghao handed the phone back to Seungcheol.

“That’s great news, Jun.” Minghaol smiled.

He nodded. “It is. But,” He sniffled. “He was a part of PLEDIS.”

“Their PLEDIS sounds a lot different than ours.” Vernon observed. “None of us have undergone electric shock conditioning, whatever that means. And they don't seem to have any sort of app.”

“And, even though I am happy that you have a lead on your brother, Jun,” Seungcheol said. “It doesn’t explain why C is warning Mingyu about the founder of our fraternity.”

Minghao returned to his laptop and typed in a few more things. After a couple minutes of only the sound of his typing, he finally looked up and let out a heavy breath.

“What is it?” Jun really couldn’t handle everything he was learning today.

“We need to get Mingyu, now.” Minghao demanded, standing.

“Why? Minghao, what’s wrong?” Jun stood too.

He turned his laptop towards the others. Another article, this time in English, was pulled up. It was their school’s website, the page dating back to 1989.

_Campus Announcements: Visiting Professor of Psychology from South Korea University Seoul Campus announces results from study._

Jun’s eyes flit over the page.

_Student participants involved in PLEDIS experiment have grown as close friends and form the Gamma Alpha Upsilon local fraternity. Their focus is to spread their experiences from being in the project and share it with others. President and founder, third-year student, Seong-su Han says, “I’m very happy I was part of such a rewarding study. I plan on continuing this work because I want to help others. I believe everyone deserves to be satisfied.”_

Minghao shook his head. “I should’ve put two and two together. Dr. Han moved to Korea after he participated in PLEDIS. He’s continuing PLEDIS to this day. He’s traced everything back to us.”

“I don’t get it.” Jun frowned.

Minghao looked scared. His eyes wavered when they met Jun’s. “Mingyu used to visit a psychologist when we were in foster care. He was going to visit Dr. Han...he could end up like your brother.”

"You mean...?"

"PLEDIS isn't just a psychology experiment, it is a scam that kidnaps people for research. It's human experimentation that has surpassed ethics." He bit his lip. "Before we know it all of us could be missing."

Suddenly Jun’s phone rang, scaring everyone with the high pitched sound. 

“Hello?”

“Jun?” Soonyoung's voice sounded tired on the other end of the line.

“Is everything okay?”

“Have you seen Wonwoo?”

The others in the room looked at him, Jun put the phone on speaker.

“No, I’m with Hao, Vernon, and Seungcheol- _hyung_. None of us have seen Wonwoo today.”

“He isn’t answering his calls and he hasn’t been back to the room all day. I’m worried.”

"Alright, we'll come look with you." Jun said. "We have some things to tell you too."

"Thanks Junnie, see you soon."

"That's it." Jun grunted, after hanging up.

The others gave him a confused look.

"We're done acting like dogs. It's time to go put an end to this nightmare."

Minghao slipped his hand in Jun's. "That's my bold, boyfriend."

Jun squeezed his hand. "First things first, where the hell is Wonwoo?"

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Does this chapter make sense? I'm running into this problem where I know exactly what I want to happen (I have the rest of the chapters outlined and ready to be written), but when I write the actual chapter it doesn't turn out exactly how I want???
> 
> I guess to clairfy:  
> >There are multiple PLEDIS experiments (dating back to 30 years), each one different in location, participants, and structure depending on the researcher in charge (more explanation in later chapter)  
> >Jun's brother was kidnapped and became a participant in PLEDIS, the conditioning led him to forget about his family (connection to love and more explanation with Mingyu)
> 
> Anyways...thank you for all your kind words, I say this all the time but it really does mean a lot. <3


	18. All is REVEALed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A revealing chapter...what more could you want?

_Where the hell am I?_

Wonwoo woke up feeling groggy. It was like that one time he pulled an all-nighter playing a new video game to max out his character’s level then he passed out only to be woken up a couple hours later to find Soonyoung in only his boxers making mini waffles in a mickey mouse shaped waffle maker. This time there was no Soonyoung, but Wonwoo could already tell the situation he was currently in was much worse.

At first Wonwoo thought he was in a really dark room. Then he realized it wasn’t dark, his vision was blocked by some sort of sack covering his head. When he tried to move his hands to take it off he found his arms were bound to something-armrests of a chair he guessed. He tried to stretch his legs but found they were also restricted. There was something attached to the palm of his left hand. He could feel tape and what he assumed were wires connected.

 _Where the hell am I_? He thought again.

Wonwoo tried to think. What had he been doing before he passed out? _How_ did he pass out?

This morning he woke up, feeling terrible. Of course he remembered his fight with Mingyu. _Someone is telling me this isn’t right. You’re not right._

Wonwoo laid in bed until Soonyoung convinced him that moping around wouldn’t help anything. So they decided to get brunch off campus. Wonwoo only agreed because his roommate offered to pay.

When he returned to campus he was feeling a little better so he decided to do some more filming for his documentary. It was coming along well, but there were still missing holes. He couldn’t figure out Night Sky and PLEDIS’ actual purpose and it was holding his film back.

Just when he thought he was feeling better, after not thinking about Mingyu the whole day, Joshua appeared.

Wonwoo liked Joshua. He was a respectable _hyung_ with a calm attitude.

Wonwoo soon realized that his perception was wrong.

As a REVEAL, Joshua’s was strange. He suddenly asked Wonwoo to meet, his phone went off with the REVEAL notification and Joshua immediately started discussing the app. The older was angry, just like he should be, but there was something about his anger towards PLEDIS that was different.

"What's your end goal  _hyung_?" Wonwoo asked.

Joshua grit his teeth and the younger followed the movement. "To put an end to this shit show."

"Huh?"

Joshua shook his head. "Nothing. How are you and Mingyu?"

Wonwoo narrowed his eyes, memories of last night hitting again.

"We've been better."

Joshua nodded as if he knew exactly what Wonwoo was talking about. "After all he's been through, I'm surprised you still stick around."

"What do you mean?" He didn't deny that Mingyu didn't want Wonwoo to 'stick around' anymore.

"He loves you, Won."

" _Wha_ -"

"Don't deny it." Joshua said, Wonwoo knew his own face was red. "He loves you so much it hurts. He may not be able to express it now, but don't worry. There will come a time when he'll be able to show it without pain."

Wonwoo didn't really understand what Joshua was talking about but he liked the sound of it. "Thanks,  _hyung_."

“Oh, and Wonwoo? I’m sorry.”

“What?”

Suddenly Wonwoo felt a sharp pain in his upper arm. He looked down to see Joshua’s hand wrapped around a syringe, the needle emptying its contents into Wonwoo’s body.

The younger started to feel too heavy for his feet.

“Wh-what did you do?” His words slurred as if he was drunk.

Joshua took the needle out and Wonwoo’s legs gave out. From the ground he saw the older pick up his camera and sling it around his neck.

“You’ll need this.” Joshua said.

And then Wonwoo had woken up with a sack on his head.

He didn’t have much more time to contemplate as two voices became audible, indicating they were walking towards Wonwoo from somewhere. A door opened.

“I’m very impressed you got him to come.”

“It took some convincing...and a tranquilizer.”

Those voices were definitely _not_ Joshua’s.

“I expected as much.” The first voice that spoke chuckled. It sounded like a man’s, but no one Wonwoo was familiar with. He spoke in English but there was a slight accent. “Why is his head still covered? Is he not as handsome since he used to live in the foster home?”

“I didn’t want him to wake up too soon.” This voice belonged to a female.

There were some strange noises that Wonwoo could barely make out; some papers flipping, footsteps walking around him. His heart was racing threatening to jump out of his chest as he took in the situation. Who were these people? Why was he restrained to a chair and blindfolded?

“Well, I have a video conference with the others. I will be back in a bit. If he wakes just follow the script!”

Retreating footsteps and the sound of a door opening and closing indicated to Wonwoo that the male left the room.

He heard silence for almost a full minute and then-

_Woosh._

Light filled his vision. He blinked and finally adjusted enough to see a girl. She had a worried expression knit into her brows.

“Shhh.” She pressed a finger to his lips and Wonwoo debated if he should bite her finger. She was a kidnapper after all. “I know you have a lot of questions but if you want answers you’re gonna have to do everything I say, _exactly_ as I say. Do you understand?”

Then Wonwoo did bite her finger.

“Ow!” She jumped back. “What the fuck!?”

Wonwoo smirked. “Nice try. I don’t know who you are but you’re going to regret kidnapping me.”

The girl rolled her eyes and walked over to a desk.

Wonwoo looked around the room. He was sat in the middle in a large, padded chair. Strange wires that ran into the ground were attached to him and there was a monitor to his right. In the far corner of the room was a door where the man from earlier must have exited from. On the same wall was a large mirror where Wonwoo stared at his own reflection. After a moment he concluded that it wasn't a mirror, but one-way glass. He was in an observation room.

He glanced over at the girl, rummaging through a folder. She looked familiar but he couldn't quite recall where he'd seen her.

“I think you’re going to want to hear what I have to say.” The girl held up what appeared to be a pamphlet. It read _PLEDIS_.

Wonwoo raised his eyebrows.

“Jeon Wonwoo, aka **Round Heart** , nice to meet you. I’m C.”

He made a sort of strangled noise of surprise. “You mean as in-?” It was a stupid question. “B-but how? What? Where am I? I was with Joshua- _hyung_ ...you _kidnapped_ me?!”

Then it hit him why she looked so familiar.  _Wonwoo, do you know anyone named Kim Mingyu? He’s a freshman._ She was that psychology graduate assistant he met starting his sophomore year. Thinking about Mingyu while in this situation made his head hurt.

C put the piece of paper down and walked over to Wonwoo. She held a key in her hand.

“Like I said just listen and do what I say. We don’t have much time.”

“Much time before wh-?” He closed his mouth at the glare she gave. “Right…”

“I’m going to give you the brief rundown and if you have questions-don’t.” Her dark eyes were fierce with desperation and Wonwoo couldn’t discern why.

He watched as she went to work on his leg restraints.

“Right now you are in an underground lab on the SKUA campus. Only certain professors and psychology majors are aware of this lab. I won’t go into the history.”

Finally free, Wonwoo stood and stretched. He looked down at his hand and tried to decipher what was attached.

“The PLEDIS experiment has been around for over thirty years.” C went on. “You are part of one of the most dangerous projects.”

“Dangerous?” Wonwoo wondered. He admit, the Night Sky app wasn’t a breeze, and it dug up so many things in the past for the other members that some of them got hurt, but Wonwoo felt he, himself had not been put into any immediate danger.

“This particular experiment is a replica of PLEDIS beta.” She walked back over to the desk. A laptop sat on it along with- “Here.” C handed Wonwoo the object. “I need you to film everything I say and everything in this room.” She let out a shaky breath. “I didn’t agree for you to start making that film without a real purpose.”

Wonwoo blinked. He didn’t know how to take off the strange tape and wires attached to his hand off so he just ignored them and turned on the camera. He figured it was better not to ask why he was filming proof of his kidnapper's evil plans.

“PLEDIS beta was a project thirty years ago on this very campus.Twelve students participated in a study that investigated what would happen socially if students were forced to be friends, a harmless project really. What they didn’t know was that one of the participants received electric shock treatment every week.” C bit her lip. “Well...I wouldn’t say treatment is the correct word. That one participant underwent _conditioning_.”

“Isn’t that the thing with the dogs? And the saliva?” Wonwoo remembered taking psychology freshman year but his memory of the subject was still off.

C nodded. “Yes, dogs were conditioned to associate the sound of a bell with incoming food. So over time whenever they heard the bell, they instantly salivated thinking food would come.”

“And they did that with a _person_?”

“Yes.” She responded quietly. “But instead of food and a bell they did it with emotions and electric shocks.” She opened the laptop and started typing into it. “Dr. Han was one of those participants, he is the man you heard earlier. He’s the one who made me...made _us_ a part of PLEDIS.”

Wonwoo let that sink in. A man who was a participant of PLEDIS thirty years ago continued the project today.

“Why us?”

C bit her lip. She looked like there was something she wanted to say but decided against it. Instead she said, “Well...you and the others were my choice. I...I thought you’d all be a good fit. But _he_ had no choice.”

“Who?”

Wonwoo blinked. He thought long and hard based on the information C just gave him. _Is he not as handsome since he used to live in the foster home?_ Foster home? Emotions? Electric shock...electric shock?

Wonwoo gulped and looked down at his hand. An image of a familiar left hand with a scar on its palm flashed in his mind.

He gasped, almost dropping his camera.

“Oh my god.”

So many things flashed through his mind at once.

To confirm his suspicions C showed Wonwoo her laptop screen. On it was a sort of diagram. Wonwoo took one look at it and wanted to throw up.

He felt his knees buckle a little and sank to the ground, hitting it with a thud.

The tape ripped from his hand quickly and the wires fell. He was too distracted to think about the pain.

It all made sense now.

The reason why Mingyu would push Wonwoo away whenever the latter thought they finally could be happy together, the reason Mingyu looked so _pained_ , the reason he couldn’t love. Mingyu genuinely _couldn’t_ love without getting hurt. He would’ve been Wonwoo’s final REVEAL.

“When Mingyu was a child, he lost his parents. At the age of 4 he would leave the foster home once every couple of weeks to meet with Dr. Han and undergo conditioning.” C’s voice sounded far away. Her eyes stared at a fix point on the ground. “For years Mingyu received electric shocks on his hand to associate feeling love with pain.”

Wonwoo wanted to asked questions, express his anger, do _something_...but all he could do was listen.

“It was easy for Dr. Han, because he used the loss of Mingyu’s parents against him. He used his lack of parental love to tap into love towards friendships, romantic love, and trust.”

“That’s horrible!” Wonwoo blurted, making C look up at him in shock. “He was a child! He did nothing to deserve that!”

“No one should deserve that.” C agreed. “Dr. Han’s wife was a social worker at the foster home and she was the one who made the connection.” She glanced at the watch on her wrist. “I know you have more questions, but we don’t have much time. Right now Dr. Han is on a video conference call with other psychologists from around the world. They are a band of psychologists that carry out their own versions of PLEDIS experiments.”

“Why hasn’t anyone stopped them?”

“They’ve been caught before.” C informed. “A project in China was stopped a couple of years ago and the psychologist in charge was arrested. Police hadn’t been able to trace the other psychologists as the projects happened sporadically. This PLEDIS project is the most recent since then.”

Wonwoo frowned, suddenly suspicious of C. Why was she telling him all of this? Should he trust her?

“You all would’ve been next.” She clicked on her screen.

To Wonwoo’s horror there was an elaborate diagram depicting each person in the project. Seungkwan’s family life was outlined, pictures of his sisters and his father with arrows were drawn. Seokmin’s anxiety and even therapist visits were tracked and recorded in the diagram. Everything was on there. Wonwoo looked at his own part and found standard information about himself. He realized how fortunate he was to have been living the life he had.

“Where’s Joshua- _hyung_?” Wonwoo realized the older wasn’t on the screen.

“Joshua was the one who kidnapped you...he didn’t want to. He’s been against everything, but stuck with me because he didn’t want to see you all hurt either.” C explained.

“Joshua- _hyung_?” Wonwoo asked. 

C nodded. “This project was only meant for 12 people. I changed it to include him so he could help me. I broke the rules so many times, Wonwoo. I broke them to protect you all.”

Wonwoo felt guilty for having his doubts only a couple of moments ago. C looked like she was on the verge of tears.

“And now...now you’re going to save everyone. You’re going to help fix the mistakes I made.”

“How?”

“You already are.” She held an arm out to him. “Aren’t you wondering why you’re here instead of Mingyu?”

Wonwoo sucked in a breath. C was protecting Mingyu. She was protecting all of them. She had been protecting them this whole time. It scares him how much worse things could have turned out. 

"C," He pointed his camera at her. "What happened to the one participant in PLEDIS beta who was conditioned with electric shocks?" His heart slammed against his chest in anticipation of the answer. 

Suddenly the door opened and Wonwoo, as tense as he was, dropped his camera, wincing at the cracking sound he heard.

Standing in the doorway was a man in a white lab coat. The guy didn't need a formal introduction for Wonwoo to know that this man was Dr. Han, the man responsible for all of this.

"He died." C whispered. 

"Well, well." Dr. Han chuckled. "Isn't this a surprise. Wonwoo I didn't think I'd meet you until later. I'm happy to see you though, I'm sure Diamond has informed you of everything?"

"Oh don't worry," Wonwoo glanced at C who looked like she was about to scream. "Everything was revealed."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh...an ending to this story... that's probably what you want.
> 
> It took me forever to insert the image, but I hope it can clear up things for people.
> 
> It's almost over guys...I'm struggling to write but maybe it's because a part of me doesn't want this to end...
> 
> Thanks for reading <3


	19. It's a Choice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is a reason this chapter update is super late...

“May I come in?”

“Well actually, I am meeting with a student soon-”

“Jeon Wonwoo won’t be coming for your scheduled meeting. I am here in his place.”

Dr. Tanko raised an eyebrow and leaned forward, clearly intrigued. “And who might you be?” He gestured for the other to take a seat.

Joshua felt like he got that question a lot, especially recently. He knew a lot about other people, probably more things than he should know. He kept his mouth shut though and only revealed things when he needed to.

He didn’t know what to expect of the faculty who has worked at SKUA the longest. Dr. Tanko was a tall, elderly man. Wire-rimmed glasses were perched atop his nose, and his gray hair stuck out every which way.

“You can call me Elegant Purpose.” Joshua said, placing himself in the empty chair opposite the film professor.

Dr. Tanko’s eyes widened a little. “As in-?” He nodded, seeming to understand the situation. “Alright, why don’t you tell me why you’re here first.”

Joshua pulled out a digital camcorder that he stole from Seokmin. The kid still didn’t know it was missing, but Joshua would give it back.

He hit record and Dr. Tanko didn’t seem to mind. “Please tell me who you are and when you started working here.”

“Alright. I’m Dr. Tanko, professor of film. I’ve been working here for 34 years.”

“And what can you tell me about the PLEDIS experiment that occured on this campus about 30 years ago?”

Silence.

Joshua watched the elder man. He looked unsurprised at the question. There was a faraway look, as if he was recalling those times.

“I haven’t heard that word in a long time.” Dr. Tanko said softly. “I assume you aren’t asking out of sheer peculiar interest.”

Joshua nodded, wanting the old man to get on with it.

“PLEDIS was a project started at our sister school in Seoul by a professor of psychology who brought the project here to the states. PLEDIS beta was purely a social experiment on the outside, but only few people knew of its true nature.”

“Did you know its true nature?”

“I notice you’re not asking me _what_ its true nature was.” The professor pointed out. “But yes, I was there the day one of the participants died.”

Joshua froze. Diamond mentioned something about the original PLEDIS experiment going wrong, but he didn’t quite want to believe the worst.

“How did a participant die?”

Dr. Tanko took his glasses off and ran a hand over his face. He seemed to be aging as the conversation dragged on. “Electric shock conditioning is not to be taken lightly, and a jealous fellow participant is not to be messed with.”

Joshua felt his jaw drop, the camera slipping a bit in his hands but he collected himself. “Another one of the participants _murdered_ him?”

“Even I’m not sure why. What I do know, is that the participant and the professor both went to jail.”

“Why is this not a news story we could easily find?”

Dr. Tanko turned his head. He rolled his chair over to a bookshelf along the left wall of the room and pulled out a dusty cardboard box. Joshua filmed the man as he opened the lid, ruffled through the contents of it, and finally plucked out what he was looking for.

What he held up was a newspaper dating back to the 80’s. It looked to be one of the campus newspapers that nowadays was sent in a mass email to the school with the latest news.

On the front cover the headline read “Student in Social Psychology Study Dies.”

“The story was covered up.” Dr. Tanko said. “The other participants all mutually denied any involvement.”

Joshua thought for a long moment. “Conformity.”

“Indeed. You’re a psychology major, aren’t you?”

“Yes.” He was starting to feel that this detective game they were playing at was suffocating. “The other participants conformed to the thoughts of...the professor?”

Dr. Tanko rubbed his chin. “It would seem so. Doing everything the professor said was a part of their experiment. Conforming to authority is quite common.” He looked Joshua in the eye. “I assume that’s what you’ve been doing?”

It was like a slap in the face. “Yes.” He paused. “How-how did you know that this project is happening now? You don’t seem all that surprised.”

“You just confirmed my suspicions. Wonwoo is filming a documentary and although he had to bend his explanation to me, I started to piece everything together.”

Joshua frowned. “And why didn’t you do anything about it? What if this was a repeat of PLEDIS beta?”

“It’s not.” Dr. Tanko put his glasses back on. “I can already tell, you have a plan in motion.” He flipped open the newspaper and scanned it. After a few moments he placed his finger on a spot and gestured for Joshua to read it. “And you’re clearly different from the original Elegant Purpose.”

_Seong-su Han, also known as Elegant Purpose through the study’s naming system, was a sophomore involved. He says, “Participant Gentle Stone may have had it coming. Rules are rules after all.”_

Gentle Stone was Mingyu’s name in the app.

Joshua phone rang and he flinched. Dr. Tanko nodded for him to answer it.

“Joshua- _hyung_!” An out of breath Soonyoung yelled into the phone. “Have you seen Wonwoo? I can’t find him anywhere and I’m starting to worry.”

He looked at the professor who gave him an exhausted smile.

Joshua was done lying.

“Yeah, Soonyoung, I do.” He responded. “I need you to meet me at the social science building in twenty minutes with the list of people I text you.”

“What? But, _hyung_.”

“Soonyoung, do it please. If you want Wonwoo safe, just do it.”

He heard Soonyoung suck in a breath. “Okay, see you soon.”

Joshua shut his phone off and stood, closing the camcorder as well. “Dr. Tanko, I need a favor. Can you call the police in thirty minutes and have them report to the social science building? Tell them there was an accident.”

 

Mingyu dreamed of the past. He dreamed of a little boy who woke to crying strangers crowding his house, an unknown woman taking the boy’s chubby little fingers and leading him up the stairs of an unfamiliar building, and of a voice saying _they’re gone now, get used to having things you love leave._

He woke up in a cold sweat a few times, floating in and out of consciousness when the dream got too intense. He didn’t stay awake long enough to figure out where he was.

Another dream consisted of Wonwoo.

They were back on the beach. It was dark and stormy again. The rocks they stood on were slippery as the waves crashed against them. Mingyu noticed something was off about the setting though. It was the moon. It wasn’t a waxing gibbous, but a crescent.

Wonwoo was in Mingyu’s arms again. He wore his glasses, his hair felt soft in Mingyu’s fingers, and his face was as handsome as ever. The scent of vanilla was overwhelming, as if Wonwoo were actually there. But Mingyu knew this was a dream.

Because in the dream they kissed. And kissed again. And every time they did it Mingyu didn’t hear the voice. He didn’t have a burning desire that Wonwoo would hurt him. It was a kiss without pain. Dream Mingyu was enjoying it. Real life Mingyu felt tortured.

_He’s going to leave you._

Like a strange effect in a movie, Mingyu’s dream shifted.

He didn’t understand how he knew it, but he was back in Korea. He was standing outside the foster home. Everything seemed to be playing in fast motion.

A man took Mingyu by the shoulders. He was in middle school again. The man led Mingyu to a car and drove him to some unknown building. Child Mingyu was led to an unknown floor into an unknown room and commanded to sit in an unknown chair. Something unknown was attached to his hand and before he knew it the man was asking him questions.

“Mingyu, do you understand what love is? What _real_  love is?” The man asked.

“Yes, doctor.” Child Mingyu answered.

“No you don’t. You never will.” The man-the doctor, said.

A small sharp vibration.

“Mingyu, what do you love?”

“I-I…” He hesitated. “My famil-”

_Zap._

“Wrong.” The doctor said. “You don’t have a family, remember? They left you.”

“They didn't leave me they died....But...but my friend Minghao. I love him like my famil-”

 _Zap_.

“Your friends will leave you one day too.”

“B-but what about when I grow up? I might get married. That person will love me and never leave-”

 _ZAP_.

“Mingyu!”

Mingyu’s eyes snapped open. His head pounded and his hand throbbed.

He groaned, gaining consciousness and cursing at the coldness of the room. He reached out for a blanket and pulled it close to his chest and closed his eyes again.

“Um, I’m glad to see you too but I’m not your blanket.”

Mingyu peeled his eyes open at the familiar voice.

A face came into focus. Fashionable glasses, longish hair, a ridiculous beret-

“Minghao?”

His friend’s eyes softened for a moment. “Yeah, it’s me. You were having a nightmare.”

Mingyu squeezed Minghao’s arm, just to be sure it still wasn’t a dream, and finally let go.

He sat up and Minghao surged forward to help him. “Take it easy. You passed out with a high fever.” Minghao snorted. “Serves you right for going out in the rain in this weather.” He leaned over and handed Mingyu some water. “What do you remember?”

There was something pulling at Mingyu’s heart. Emotions, he decided, that were finally making sense to him.

“Wonwoo…” His voice trailed off. “Minghao, I-I think I understand now.”

His friend sat at the edge of the bed.

“I don’t know how this was suppressed from my memory, but I remember now.” He stared down at the water in his hand. A blurry reflection of his own face sloshed in the clear cup. "Every couple of weeks, from when I entered foster care until I entered high school, I would meet with a doctor. My social worker told me it was because I had a bad medical condition. But in reality he was..." Mingyu's voice caught in his throat. He looked up at Minghao. "I've hurt so many people because a man made me believe love was painful."

Minghao shook his head. “It's not your fault. Gyu, I’m supposed to protect you.” He said, voice quiet. “But I didn’t. I failed, look where you are.”

Mingyu looked around the small room of the wellness center. He reached out and squeezed his friend’s arm. “You have protected me, Hao. Ever since we met you stuck by my side even when I would push you away. And I’m grateful for that.”

Minghao’s eyes widened.

“I know those words are long overdue.” Mingyu chuckled, feeling awkward. “Thanks for being my best friend.”

Then they were hugging. It was weird and really out of character for the both of them, but Minghao was the one person Mingyu would consider family.

A knock came at the door, making the two of them pull apart and give each other a quizzical look.  Minghao got up to get it but the person behind the door didn’t wait for an answer.

It swung open and Joshua stood in the doorway looking mildly disheveled with scatter-brain.

“ _Hyung_?” Mingyu asked.

Joshua looked at Minghao then back to Mingyu. “We don’t have much time, the two of you need to come with me _now_.”

Minghao stood up in a defensive stance as if he were protecting Mingyu.

"He just woke up and he's recovering, so unless there's some-"

"Wonwoo is in danger."

Mingyu was out of the bed and shoving his shoes on his feet in a matter of seconds.

Outside of the social science building Mingyu saw a group of people gathered at the patio tables. It was already late at night so not many students should have been out. Maybe it was a fraternity doing some weird event?

Upon closer inspection Mingyu realized he knew all the people, only two of them in his fraternity.

“ _Hyung_!” Soonyoung jumped up from his chair, still holding Jihoon’s hand. “What’s going on? Where is Wonwoo?”

Mingyu looked around at the gathered friends. It was every he’d met through the app. So that meant Wonwoo....

“Members of the PLEDIS experiment,” Joshua started. “I know not all of you have met through a REVEAL, but I’m telling you now that every single one of you including myself is part of this psychology study.”

“Isn’t this against-”

“Yes, Seokmin.” Joshua cut him off. “It is against the rules. You all need to hear me out.” He pushed Mingyu forward a little. “This experiment was headed by a man named Han Seong-su. He is a professor of psychology at our sister school in Seoul. He knew Mingyu growing up and-”

“And he subjected me to his experiment.” Mingyu spoke up. It was his story to tell. Joshua nodded at him to continue. “It was somehow suppressed in my memory, but as a child I would go with Dr. Han into his lab and received electrical shocks every time I felt love as an emotion. Over the years any time I felt love I would hear a voice, Dr. Han’s voice, that would tell me the person would hurt me in the end. It was so ingrained in me and painful.” 

He looked at his friends all staring back at him. Seungkwan was leaning forward with a worried expression drawn in his brow, but Vernon was drawing circles on the back of his hand in comfort. Seungcheol and Jeonghan stood to the side, not touching each other, but clearly finding solace in their close proximity. Chan and Seokmin sat side by side, the two brothers clearly confused and scared. Soonyoung was still standing, about ready to fight something, but Jihoon held him back. Jun found Minghao when they first arrived and they were leaning into each other.

“And I’m sorry.” Mingyu finally said. “I’m sorry that over the past few months you’ve all lived in such suspense. It wasn’t fair to any of you that you've had to experience pain at the expense of me.”

"People are flawed, Mingyu." Joshua placed a hand on his shoulder. "Which means experiments dealing with people are flawed."

He raised an eyebrow.

"Conditioning is used for _biological_ responses, like salivating. Not emotional ones, like-"

"Like love." Mingyu choked.

"Have you ever noticed how you act around him? And I don’t just mean the pain.” Joshua didn't need to clarify who he was talking about.

The older was looking into Mingyu’s eyes but it felt like his gaze was piercing through his entire being. Mingyu felt completely vulnerable. Joshua knew everything about him, and not just the surface level stuff most people knew.

“I know.” Mingyu’s voice caught in his own throat. “I love him so much it hurts.” He gasped as if getting through the sentence was the hardest thing he’d ever done. But he’d done it. He admit it, and the thoughts weren’t haunting him.

Joshua smiled. “You see? You did it.”

“I love him.” Mingyu said again, a little more confidently. “I’m in love with Wonwoo- _hyung_.” It felt like taking a breath of fresh air after being trapped underwater. He stood and dramatically raised his arms. “I’m in love with Jeon Wonwoo!” He yelled. Minghao snickered, Soonyoung hollered with him and the others just smiled.

Joshua laughed. “I know you are, but you shouldn’t be telling us that.”

 

Wonwoo had never been in a fight in his entire life. He didn’t make many friends growing up but he also didn’t make any enemies. The closest thing he got to a fight was the time he and Soonyoung were drunk and they decided a diss rap battle at 2:41AM was a great idea. Soonyoung claims he won, but Wonwoo knew he destroyed him.

It started when C scrambled to pick up Wonwoo’s broken camera, eject the SD card, and screamed to Wonwoo, “Run!”

His body took into action, carrying him away. Unfortunately his brain didn’t respond in the same way.

There was nowhere to go in the small little room and Dr. Han stood in the doorway.

“I wouldn’t come near me if I were you.” Dr. Han said.

A flash of silver made Wonwoo freeze. The psychologist held a knife in his hand, pointing it at C.

“And to think, you betrayed me like this.”

C spat at him. “Do you know how _wrong_ this is? You don’t deserve to call yourself a psychologist!”

“My dear, it’s all a part of the research. It’s for the human race!”

“What part of manipulating the emotions of a small child is good for the human race?’ Wonwoo butted in.

Dr. Han was on him in seconds. He moved fast for an older man. Wonwoo barely had time to register anything before he felt himself being shoved against the wall, with his shirt bundled into Dr. Han’s hand and his head hitting the stone. C was on the ground coughing and sputtering as she was pushed out of the way.

“I did it to protect him. A child that knows no love will grow up to lead a satisfactory life.” He pointed the tip of the knife at Wonwoo’s throat.

Wonwoo was scared, terrified. But he stood his ground.“You and your satisfaction, just because you never knew love or satisfaction doesn’t mean you have to involve others. What part of dragging other people into this is satisfactory?”

Dr. Han laughed. “Wonwoo, what was your goal again, to discover stability? This research project gave you goals that you didn’t even realize you needed in your life. It gave you something to work towards, to live. Isn’t that a good thing? To have clear goals?”

“Nothing about this experiment was clear.” Wonwoo grit his teeth. “I don’t think you understand what you did. You caused Seungkwan’s father, a poisonous man to the family, to come and lash out at Seungkwan and Vernon ended up getting hurt too! You caused the Lee brothers, one who has very high anxiety and needs an emotional support pet, to only get more stressed! You dragged students who have done _nothing_ wrong, like Seungcheol- _hyung_ and Jeonghan- _hyung_ into this mess when they’re trying to focus on their futures! And Jun!” Wonwoo was getting angrier and angrier. “Jun did nothing wrong and you made him feel guilty! You let his own guilt prevent him from wanting happiness! And, and,” His mind was racing. “And Soonyoung! He’s my roommate and my best friend." The thought of Soonyoung facing his ex boyfriend made Wonwoo livid. "You _hurt_ him. You hurt all of them!”

“Don’t forget me.”

Wonwoo felt Dr. Han’s grip on his shirt tighten.

They both looked towards the door. Mingyu stood there, looking oddly pale and sickly. It made Wonwoo sad, but he was also overjoyed to see the boy safe.

“Let him go doctor.” Mingyu demanded. “I’m the one you want right?”

Dr. Han didn’t listen. “Ah, Mingyu. You’ve grown up so well, so handsome. Right Wonwoo?”

Wonwoo met Mingyu’s eyes and something passed between the two. Everything was going to be alright.

“Save the small talk doctor, your time is up.” Mingyu walked into the room.

“Don’t come closer, or I’ll take his hand off.” Dr. Han grabbed one of Wonwoo’s hands and brought the blade close. “Then you could have matching scars.”

“The police are already outside, Han.” C said, rising to her feet. “Give it up.”

The doctor laughed. “You’re going to send me to jail? Great! That doesn’t fix anything, does it Mingyu?” He raised an eyebrow. “You’ll still be unable to love without thinking someone will hurt you.”

“You’re wrong.” Mingyu’s voice rang clear throughout the room. Wonwoo looked at the younger boy in alarm. “I am already in love with someone.” Mingyu smiled at Wonwoo. “I’m in love with Wonwoo, and your stupid conditioning no longer prevents me from admitting that.”

Dr. Han frowned. “How is that possible?”

“Because love is an emotion.” Wonwoo said.

“Emotions are involuntary.” The doctor scowled.

“But falling in love with someone isn't.” Mingyu declared. “I chose to fall in love with Wonwoo. I wanted to stop believing that people would hurt me and leave me if I loved them. It’s a choice.” He looked into Wonwoo’s eyes.

“It’s about time you made your own decisions.” Wonwoo smiled back, his heart fluttering.

He kicked out his foot and felt it connect with Dr. Han’s knee. Mistakenly it drove the doctor to stumble forward and Wonwoo felt a sharp pain on the palm of his hand.

They both cried out and then Wonwoo heard a lot of noise.

Many footsteps were entering the small room, a radio sounded and someone was yelling, “Freeze!”

Mingyu was at Wonwoo’s side in an instant. The younger looked down at his hand shrugging off his jacket and taking his t-shirt off.

“What are you doing?” Wonwoo asked, aware that there were policeman literally inches away from them, struggling to hold back Dr. Han.

“Trying to make you stable, hold still.” Mingyu dramatically ripped at the collar of his t-shirt and took some of the fabric to stop the bleeding on Wonwoo’s hand.

“You already make me feel stable.” Wonwoo mumbled and stared at the boy, aware that his response was barely audible. He winced at the pain in his palm.

Mingyu was beautiful. Not just because he was shirtless, of course he was physically beautiful, but because he changed. There was something about the way Mingyu was so sure of himself.  _I chose to fall in love with Wonwoo_.

"Wonwoo, what's wrong? Does it hurt that much? Why are you crying?"

Wonwoo smiled, tears slowly trickling down his face. "You meant it didn't you? You love me?"

His felt Mingyu freeze as he finished up bandaging his hand. They looked into each other's eyes. 

"Yeah." He said softly. "I love you, Wonwoo. And I know you won't hurt-"

A strangled noise of surprise and then Wonwoo felt Mingyu kiss him back. It was a sweet kiss that held all the raw emotions both of them couldn't hold on to any longer.

"I choose you too." Wonwoo whispered and leaned his forehead against Mingyu's, eyes slowly opening to meet the other's. "I love you and I won't ever hurt you."

"I know. I'm glad I chose to fall in love with you." He whispered back.

"One, thing." Wonwoo said, causing Mingyu to raise an eyebrow. "Are you going to keep dropping the  _hyung_ honorific when referring to me?"

Mingyu rolled his eyes and kissed him again.

They kissed until C approached them, informing the love birds it was time to go.

The sight of Wonwoo's friends all safe was comforting, even with Soonyoung sobbing in his arms. But the best part was seeing Dr. Han get into a police car hand-cuffed.

Wonwoo felt someone pull him into their arms and knew it was Mingyu.

"Look." Mingyu whispered into his hair. "The moon is really pretty tonight."

The moon hung in the sky, glowing bright as a large circle. It was a full moon, reflecting how full of love Wonwoo felt.

"So are you." Wonwoo giggled back.

Another kiss was shared, and Mingyu held onto him tight. Wonwoo smiled, knowing there would be more kisses like this to come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because I wanted it to end right :)
> 
> And well I've been super busy with college, study abroad and life ya know. No matter how many times I wrote this chapter I still wasn't satisfied (lol). This fic is a lot more deep and convoluted than I expected it to be, and I think that's what's making me lose steam to write it because I want to do it justice. But don't worry, I will finish the last chapter :)
> 
> I won't make this a long emotional post (that's for the next and last chapter) but I will say thank you to everyone who is encouraging and showing me love <3
> 
> The last chapter should wrap things up and I hope you'll look forward >_<


	20. Epilogue: Same Night Sky

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is, the promised conclusion. Meanie smut included.
> 
> Read my end notes for a long, cheesy explanation of my gratefulness and some updates (or don't I don't control you!).

The days following the arrest of Dr. Han and the exposure of the PLEDIS experiment were hectic. Tons of police and reporters roamed around campus, no matter what news channel was on there was a story featuring the study, and the thirteen boys and C never seemed to catch a break.

Everyone was questioned but C and Joshua had the worst confrontations as they were accused of committing minor offenses, including the kidnapping of Wonwoo. In the end they were let free for having been manipulated by Dr. Han.

With some interrogation, Dr. Han admitted he was a part of an underground organization of psychologists around the world that have been continuing the PLEDIS experiments with their own twists. Police have been in search of these other projects to put an end to them.

After a week of chaos, Jun got the chance to return back to China for a while to sort out the situation with his brother. Soonyoung brought up his history with his ex-boyfriend and police arrested the man hours later charged with sexual assault and forced labor of a minor in an above 21 environment. Seungkwan didn’t want to press charges against his own father, as much as he insisted, but Vernon let the ordeal go. Later Seungkwan got a call from his sister saying she and their mom moved to Seoul finally and she started her new job in cosmetics. They hadn’t heard from their father.

The others had things looking up for them as well. Seungcheol and Jeonghan became an official couple and both of their Greek organizations became even more competitive, but in a good way. It was only a few more weeks left before their graduation, along with Joshua. Seokmin had a rough time recovering from the stress of the entire experiment, especially after he learned he could’ve ended up receiving electric shocks, but Chan was a huge support to his brother and they seemed to be doing okay. Jihoon, not as affected by the project as others, was still the same, save for the fact the entrance of his over-hyper boyfriend got him to open up. Wonwoo swears he only sees the guy smile when Soonyoung is around.

And then there was of course Mingyu. After a lot of questioning from authorities, he received treatment from a therapist daily to try to dig at his past. His PTSD was so prevalent, that his grown-up self suppressed memories of the doctor and what happened to him as a child, until he started feeling love again.

One thing was certain though, Mingyu looked much more relieved, as if the weight on his shoulders finally lifted.

Wonwoo could tell there were no hesitant feelings in the boy he loved, and it made him happy. After the months of wondering, his Night Sky goal finally started to make sense. He _had_ discovered stability, in Mingyu. Never in his life did he want anything to remain stable as much as his relationship with the younger boy.

They met in the strangest way and their love for each other bloomed in an even stranger way. Wonwoo knew there were many regretful moments, but he was willing to push past them. For Mingyu.

_2 months later_

“You really don’t have to go to all that trouble!”

“I mean it’s a big deal, I don’t see why I wouldn’t!”

“I can just have Mingyu record it or something.”

“No that'd be such a waste of your talent. I’ve already booked a train ticket so there’s no stopping me!”

“Ooo, he’s said it. There’s no changing the almighty Soonyoung’s mind when he’s made the decision.”

Wonwoo looked up as the door opened and watched as Mingyu walked down the tiny hallway and into the rest of the hotel room. He was holding a bag of Dunkin Donuts in one hand and a beverage holder with cups in the other.

“Thank you, Mingyu!” Soonyoung exclaimed, voice cracking through Wonwoo’s laptop. “Jihoonie is coming too of course!”

“If I don’t go he would get on the wrong train and end up in Disney World.” Jihoon called from off camera.

“I would like that.” Soonyoung giggled. “Anyways Won, are we supposed to dress up? Some sort of dress code?”

“Just don’t look like a slob, it’s a highly respected event.” Wonwoo said. Out of the corner of his eye he watched Mingyu set down the bag on the small coffee table in front of the couch then waddle his way over to the bed, where Wonwoo was sitting. He handed him his coffee and then flopped down next to him.

“I’ll make sure he’s in appropriate attire.” Jihoon finally appeared on the screen, leaning down to take up Soonyoung’s space. “We’ve gotta go now. We’re meeting Vernon and Seungkwan for dinner.”

“Ooo a double date!” Mingyu teased lifting his head from the pillow to appear on the screen.

“Shut up.” Jihoon muttered.

“Bye Won! Bye Gyubie! You’re going to do great, see you tomorrow!”

“Bye, Soonyoung.”

Wonwoo closed his laptop and sighed.

“Nervous?” Mingyu asked.

Wonwoo took a sip of his iced coffee. The taste of vanilla made him smile. “A little. I’ve never talked in front of so many people before.”

At the end of the semester, for Wonwoo’s honors film project, he’d finally finished his documentary on the Night Sky app and PLEDIS. He gathered tons of footage after the arrest of Dr. Han, including the saved video from the SD card C recovered where she was exposing the underground lab. Dr. Tanko thought the film Wonwoo made was so good he decided to submit it to a couple of different film colleagues. A few weeks later Wonwoo got an email that he was invited to the New York Film Festival to showcase his documentary.

The weekend of the festival finally arrived and that’s why he and Mingyu were currently in a luxurious hotel room in New York.

“You’re going to be fine. I’ll be right beside you.” Mingyu smiled up at him, as he lay on his back. He took Wonwoo’s hand in his and kissed his palm, where a faded scar was.

“We match.” Wonwoo said, taking hold of Mingyu’s left hand and comparing their marks.

“You shouldn’t even have that.” The younger frowned. “If only I was the one-”

“Stop blaming yourself, Gyu.” He met the other’s eyes. “I know you think you’re the one that was supposed to be there, but I don’t regret taking your place. C did the right thing for us, for all of us. I’m just happy you’re not hurt.”

He smiled and brought their clasped hands to his chest. Wonwoo felt the younger’s heart beat through his shirt. “Feel that, Won? My heart is full of love. I can feel love again.” There was a small sadness to his voice. “You did that.”

Wonwoo’s expression softened. He leaned down and brought their lips together. It was as soft and sweet as any one of their other kisses.

As they continued their locked lips started to become more hungry. Soon they were in a heated make-out session, the farthest they’d gone.

“Gyu,” Wonwoo whispered, pulling back from their kiss after a long time. He felt heat on his cheeks and he blushed deeper when he saw how Mingyu’s face was equally red with shiny lips that let out small, quick breaths. He looked irresistible. “Can we...go further today?”

“You’re sure about this?” Mingyu asked, his pupils blown wide but filled with love.

“I want to show you how much I love you, and that I’ll never leave.” It was embarrassing but he meant it.

The taller boy nodded eagerly. Wonwoo placed a kiss on Mingyu’s temple then moved their lips together. The kiss was sweet at first, slow like how the other kiss started off, but Wonwoo knew that wasn’t what Mingyu wanted.

He moved atop his boyfriend, straddling his hips without breaking contact. The kiss immediately started to heat up as Wonwoo felt Mingyu push past his lips with his tongue to explore the elder’s mouth.

Wonwoo wouldn’t let him have the upper hand. He slid backwards a bit from the position where he was sitting on top of Mingyu and the other broke their kiss to half gasp and half moan.

The older smirked. “Someone’s a little excited.” He felt Mingyu’s growing erection push up against his rear. He kissed along his jawline making his way over to the other’s ear. “Can I suck you off?” He whispered.

Mingyu’s eyes widened again and instead of speaking he nodded.

Wonwoo leaned back so the taller boy could take his shirt off. Once the fabric was gone he admired the muscle spread over the other’s body. He’d already seen Mingyu with his shirt off, but this time it was different. This time he got to admire the tanned plains of his boyfriend’s body.

He let his eyes trail over Mingyu, cheeks warming at the thought of what he’d just said. Now was not the time to lose the confidence he had miraculously built up.

Wonwoo’s hands trailed along Mingyu’s chest, following each bump of hard muscle and curve of skin. He let his fingers linger at the younger’s nipples, tracing circles around it. Mingyu bit the side of his cheek and stifled a groan. “Wonwoo please.”

The older chuckled a little but complied, seeing at how needy his boyfriend was. His hands finally found its way to the waistband of Mingyu’s jeans. Instead of pulling them off, Wonwoo slid his hands over the painfully hard clothed bulge.

“Stop teasing.” Mingyu squirmed, slightly bucking his hips into the touch.

Wonwoo liked seeing how much he affected the younger. He’d broken out in a slight sweat so his hair was sticking up. Mingyu’s lips parted in anticipation and his eyes were glued to Wonwoo as if hypnotized. He looked sexy and Wonwoo slowly felt himself start to get worked up.

Finally, he gave Mingyu the relief he wanted by unbuttoning his jeans. The younger quickly wriggled out of them. Wonwoo could see the outline of Mingyu’s hardness through his boxers and lifted his eyebrows at its size. Mingyu, unable to wait any longer, slid his underwear off and Wonwoo’s suspicions were confirmed. The tall boy was large in every way.

He felt Mingyu shiver at the sudden burst of cold air. Wonwoo settled himself between the younger’s legs and started planting kisses on his thighs, his hands rubbing as well, but not where Mingyu needed it most.

It was when he finally took the other’s length in his hands that Mingyu moaned, “Wonwoo- _hyung_ , _please_.”

He smiled. “Well, since you were polite.”

He licked at the tip experimentally to see what would happen and the sound Mingyu made should’ve ended Wonwoo right there. It sounded sinful and he wanted to hear more.

The older boy placed his lips around Mingyu, taking in as much as he could and finally started to set a slow rhythm. His long fingers stroked at whatever he couldn’t reach.

At one point Mingyu’s pants started to get faster and the rocking of his hips almost made Wonwoo choke. The younger’s hands were wound in Wonwoo’s hair, pulling slightly to tell him how good he was doing.

“Wonwoo...wait I-I might…” The sight of his boyfriend’s head bobbing up and down his length was pushing him over the edge.

Wonwoo knew what was coming but he wouldn’t allow it. He pulled off Mingyu and watched the younger one whined at the loss of contact. He knew he probably looked a wreck with swollen lips and tousled hair.

Realizing he was still fully clothed, he shucked his t-shirt off and pulled down his sweats. He was already hard by the time his boxers came off as well.

“Got any lube?” Wonwoo asked Mingyu whose chest was moving with every breath.

The younger motioned to his suitcase and Wonwoo got up to open it. A bottle of lube and some condoms were in one of the pockets.

“Did you plan this?” He asked, returning to the bed and opening the bottle.

Mingyu’s face was red. “Uh, I was just hoping…” Wonwoo saw the younger’s adam’s apple move as he gulped. “I just didn’t realize you’d be the one…” _on top_.

Wonwoo smirked. “Cute of you to assume.” He kissed the younger quickly before settling himself back between his boyfriend.

He tapped at Mingyu’s legs to spread them apart and placed a lube slicked finger at his entrance. The taller boy moaned as he felt Wonwoo enter. Slowly the older set a pace to loosen Mingyu up until he added another finger and then another.

“You-you can...I’m ready.” Mingyu gasped as the fingers left him.

Wonwoo rolled the condom onto his own erection and added more lube. “I love you, Gyu.” He said aligning himself to his love.

“I love you-Ughhnnnnnn” He moaned as Wonwoo entered.

They stayed still for a moment, letting the younger adjust. Finally he nodded, small tears in his eyes.

Wonwoo pulled out so only his tip was inside Mingyu then thrust in. The younger’s moans encouraged him and soon he had a rhythm going.

“Ugn!” Mingyu moaned when Wonwoo found that sweet spot.  “Wonwoo that feels good.” His hands grabbed at the bed sheets. “F-faster please.”

“Of course, babe.” Wonwoo lifted Mingyu’s legs to get a better angle. He felt his boyfriend clench around him as he went faster. Both of them were moaning messes and the fear that someone in the neighboring hotel room could hear them was not relevant.

“Wonwoo, I’m gonna co-”

He grabbed Mingyu’s neglected erection and stroked it to his thrusts.

“Go ahead, Mingyu. Come for me.”

The stimulation and command made Mingyu come moaning Wonwoo’s name as he came undone.

Wonwoo’s eyes took in the sight of Mingyu and finally his release came with a slew of curse words and his declaration of love for his boyfriend.

The older slipped out of Mingyu, tying up the condom and tossing it into the trash. He grabbed some tissues and came back to the bed.

After they were both clean Wonwoo lay against Mingyu’s chest, the taller had one hand on his waist and the other playing with his hair.

“That was amazing.” Mingyu whispered.

Wonwoo smiled and looked up at his handsome boyfriend. “I know.”

He kissed the older’s forehead. “I love you.”

“I know.” Wonwoo closed his eyes at the gesture. “I love you too.”

 

“Where is he? Why can’t we see him now!?”

“Soonyoung, calm down this place is crowded.”

Mingyu laughed as Jihoon grabbed his boyfriend’s hand to get him to stop jumping as they stood in line.

It was almost time for the screening of Wonwoo’s documentary. Neither Mingyu nor any of his other friends had seen it yet and something told him it was going to be an emotional roller-coaster.

“You doing okay?” Seungcheol asked, stepping next to him to leave a bickering Soonyoung and Jihoon to themselves.

“Yeah.” Mingyu sighed. “Just a little scared I guess. Not for him, but for me. I almost feel like I’m about to watch a horror movie.”

“It’s scary not knowing, isn’t it?” He asked. Mingyu was reminded of the elder’s fear. “But,” Seungcheol smiled. “I’ve learned that’s okay.”

Maybe it had something to do with Seungcheol recently graduating and no longer having school or to handle an entire Greek fraternity, but he looked less tense.

“Besides, even though our experience was bad I don’t think I would’ve made great friends like you guys. Or even get over this fear of not knowing.” He nodded at the others. “We’ve all changed.”

“ _Hyung_ hold still.” Chan was fussing with his brother’s tie, trying to fix it. Seokmin was dancing along with Seungkwan to the music that was playing in the hall. Everyone had smiles on their faces.

Finally they were whisked forward towards the door. A man at the podium dressed in a suit didn’t look up from his laptop when he asked, “Name?”

“Kim Mingyu. I’m Jeon Wonwoo’s plus-one.” He gestured at the group of others. “I believe these people should also be on the list.”

The man frowned. “I don’t see ‘group of kids’ on my list.”

“But you do see victims of the PLEDIS project, the people that are _in_  this film.” Someone said from behind Mingyu.

He whirled around. “Jun- _hyung_! Minghao!”

Last time Mingyu checked, the two were in China. He hadn't heard about their return.

Jun was the one who had spoken, his newly gained boldness really shining. He left Minghao’s side momentarily to show him their passes. The man in the suit looked up and frowned as they discussed.

“When did you guys get here?” Mingyu asked his best friend as they half hugged in greeting.

Minghao chuckled. “A few days ago actually. We wanted to make it a surprise.”

The guy at the door finally let them in and Jun gestured for them to follow another man in a suit that would lead them to their seats.

“How’s his brother?” Mingyu asked as he and Minghao fell in step next to each other.

“He’s fine. They’re having a little trouble trying to reconnect but Jun was so relieved. He looks so much happier now.”

“I’m sure you have something to do with that.” He nudged his friend’s side.

Minghao rolled his eyes but a grin appeared on his face. Mingyu missed seeing his roommate over the past few months. It was strange not seeing the fashionista and putting up with his antics everyday, but he was glad Minghao was happy.

They were led to the second row of the wide theater, many of the seats already almost full. Mingyu scanned the audience and was surprised to see a few celebrities and big name directors. It made him feel proud to call Wonwoo his boyfriend.

After a while of waiting Mingyu felt someone slide into the empty seat next to him.

“I’m not late am I?”

“Joshua- _hyung_! You came?”

“You think I’d miss this?” He gestured. His suit jacket was slightly crumpled, indicating he had to rush to arrive. All thirteen of the members were present.

Mingyu grinned, about to question the other but the lights dimmed.

The audience gave a polite applause as the lights on the stage, below the large screen, came on and a spotlight appeared. The clapping grew louder as two people stepped out onto the stage. The spotlight followed them to the raised podium.

Mingyu squinted and realized he knew the people. The first was Dr. Tanko, dressed in formal wear much like everyone else. The second was C-Diamond, Mingyu realized he should call her. She was in a long pink gown. Seeing her not in the trenchcoat was strange.

“Good evening.” Dr. Tanko said into the microphone, his voice booming across the theater. “Thank you for all attending this screening. We know you’re not here to see us so we won’t speak long because we’re here to introduce the brilliant filmmaker of this documentary and not bore you with our opening.” The audience chuckled.

“I met this man when he mistook my office for Dr. Tanko’s almost two years ago.” Diamond began, hand wrapping around one side of the podium. A glint of silver drew Mingyu’s eye to the ring on her finger. “At the time I was ecstatic to have a participant for my study. I was a graduate student ready to make a name for herself. I didn’t know how wrong my actions would become.”

“I’ve worked at the school for over thirty years. To see two of these experiments completed while working makes me sick that I didn’t notice sooner.” Dr. Tanko said. “When I saw this film, I hate to admit this, but I cried.” He paused to let the audience comprehend. “Everything in it is one-hundred percent real. The students involved, their actions, and their emotions.”

“This man captured all of it, the real story of the PLEDIS experiments, coming from the participants themselves. Ladies and gentleman, please give a warm welcome to filmmaker Jeon Wonwoo.” Diamond stepped back from the podium along with the Dr. Tanko and the crowd clapped.

The spotlight shifted back to the left side of the stage where Mingyu saw his boyfriend step out and nod at the crowd.

“That’s my roommate!” He heard Soonyoung yell a couple of seats down from him.

Mingyu chuckled as he saw Wonwoo try not to smile at Soonyoung. They were so close to the stage of course he’d heard him.

Dr. Tanko shook Wonwoo’s hand when he approached and Diamond gave him a hug. Mingyu tried not to be jealous.

Standing on the podium Wonwoo shined. He’d left early in the morning to watch other films and meet important people at the festival so Mingyu hadn’t seen him at all. He was in a fancy tuxedo of blue and black, his hair styled neatly, and his smile made the younger’s heart pound.

“Good evening.” Wonwoo spoke into the microphone. “My name is Jeon Wonwoo, the director of the film. Honestly, I’m still a film student at South Korea University American Campus, and if this wasn’t a world-wide interest I wouldn’t be standing here.” He looked around at the audience. “But it is and I’ve made a film to show the world this is what happened.” He shifted and Mingyu could tell he was nervous.

“These are the real documented truths of PLEDIS and the underground psychologist union that took innocent children and manipulated their emotions, thus impacting their lives for over thirty years. I had the experience of meeting one of these participants,” Wonwoo’s eyes found Mingyu’s. “And along with eleven others we underwent the next phase of the project.” Mingyu saw his boyfriend’s shoulders relax a little after their eye contact. “This film shows why emotions, especially love, are a strong part of being human. Without them we can’t feel things. We wouldn’t know what it would be like to be nervous about entering college, or to be angry at a family member, or to feel guilt and then later feel relieved that everything turned out alright. We all come from different places. We have different backgrounds and different stories.”

Wonwoo looked back at Mingyu, something flashing in his brown eyes. “It’s like we’re people of different planets, under different moons.” Mingyu’s lips parted in disbelief. “I stole those words from my boyfriend, he looks pretty surprised right now, sorry babe.” The crowd whispered and some chuckled. Mingyu felt himself blush. Wonwoo continued, “We may be of other moons, but that doesn’t mean love is a different feeling. Our love has brought us under the same night sky. Tonight I want to share with you all that we live under one moon. I hope you all learn something from my film. Now without further ado, here’s my documentary ‘Of Other Moons’: The PLEDIS Experiment Untold.”

All the lights dimmed as the audience applauded and Wonwoo disappeared from the stage. Mingyu was already dumbstruck. Wonwoo really named his film after something he'd said.

The documentary started with instrumental music that Mingyu knew Jihoon helped produce. Scenes of the SKUA campus showed as Wonwoo’s voice narrated.

_There’s something hidden in every college campus. Secrets in history long forgotten and overlooked details by the modern age. It’s all irrelevant._

A blank screen and then Wonwoo’s face appeared. “Until you experience these secrets yourself.”

 _I met a boy._ Wonwoo continued to narrate as scenes of Mingyu himself appeared. The volleyball game he played, dates they went on, many memories passed. _But even though he wanted me as much as I wanted him he couldn’t love me back. Because it broke him._

 _I couldn't love_ . Mingyu on the screen said. It was strange hearing his own voice. It felt like he was watching another person.  _No matter who I was with I didn't believe they could actually love me back. I thought I'd get hurt_.

 _This isn't a love_ _story_. Wonwoo continued.  _As much as I wish it was. No. This film is to expose Dr. Han Seong-su and all involved parties of the PLEDIS experiments. All the members of this experiment became my friend. All of them endured such hardship. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Why don't we start at the beginning?_

A scene of Mingyu at the activities fair appeared.  _So can you introduce yourself?_ Wonwoo asked but Mingyu in the film's interview responded.

The film went on. Wonwoo’s narration continued showing the reality of everything that happened. Interviews with each of the members of the project showed. Each connection and revelation, each look of pain on his friends’ faces made Mingyu start to tear up.

It was a very good documentary. It was filmed in a way that made the movie feel very raw. Anger, guilt, pain, love. All the emotions were real.

 _Emotions aren't meant to be tampered with._ Wonwoo was saying, as the film was drawing to a close.  _What's important is you cherish what you have. I know I do. Now, do you know which love is real?_

The film ended and the credits started to roll. Mingyu was quietly sobbing. The crowd cheered, giving the documentary a standing ovation. Through his tears he caught a glimpse of Wonwoo standing back on the stage bowing and waving.

Out in the lobby of the theater the crowd was noisy. Many talked about the movie, Soonyoung talked about how he was hungry.

"Here." Someone tapped on Mingyu's shoulder.

He turned to see Diamond holding out a tissue. Her pink gown glittered up close. 

Mingyu took the tissue gratefully and wiped at his eyes.

Suddenly loud voices from his friends made him turn. He watched saw Wonwoo appear in the sea of people. Wonwoo nodded to the passersby that congratulated him and weave his way through his friends, set on making it to one person.

As if in a trance Mingyu also found himself pushing through the crowd. 

They made their way into each other's arms and their lips connected.

"It was beautiful, Won." Mingyu smiled, pulling back.

Wonwoo's eyes searched his and he wiped a tear. Why was Mingyu crying again?

"And yes, I do." Mingyu sniffled.

"You do what?" He asked, stroking the taller's cheek.

"I do know which love is real." Mingyu placed another soft kiss on his boyfriend's lips. "And no matter what night sky I'm under, I'll always love you, Wonwoo."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's finally over T_T Thank you to ALL readers of my first fic ever. If you don't feel like reading the rest of this just know I appreciate whatever sort of support you have shown me and I hope you support me again in the future!  
> UPDATE: I have released a spin-off series to this called Phases Apart, so please read it :)
> 
>  
> 
> First: This fic turned out WAY different than when I'd first started it. I didn't know how angsty and dramatic it would be but that's how it turned out. Honestly, I actually wish it turned out different than it did. What I mean, is that I wish I developed each character more in terms of their back story and time spent in this fic. The side relationships, like Jeongcheol and Verkwan, have a lot more to their story in my mind. Seokmin and Chan also had more to their story that I didn't get to write. Even Wonwoo, despite being the protagonist, I felt I could've given his character more depth. That being said, a spin-off fic with a series of one-shots has been in my mind...but for now don't hope for anything.  
> UPDATE: I have posted the spin-off series. It is called Phases Apart: An Of Other Moons Companion. Please read it to know more about this world!
> 
> Second: I'm extremely surprised and pleased by the amount of people that have shown my fic support. Ever since I was in elementary school I've wanted to be an author. I've started many stories and even books, but none of them turned out quite how I want it. And in some way, like Jun in my fic, I was a bit scared to finish those stories. So those that have complimented my writing or liked this fic, I am grateful.
> 
> Third: About the fic itself, each character holds a bit of my own insecurities in it. Wonwoo whose had a stable life and wishes for something more. Seungcheol who doesn't know what the future holds. Soonyoung who puts on a happy and bright character but holds a painful past. And C. She's actually a character who I wanted to represent Carats. Someone who supports the thirteen boys.
> 
> Fourth: As you may have noticed if you've read from the beginning, I slowed down my updates as the fic continued. Part of the reason was because I was busy and you know, life happens, but the other part was because I kept fantasizing about another fic...that's right. I have a new fic in mind and I want to do it justice, so please wait a while but expect more from me! I also might ask for some one-shot prompts (like requests) every now in then, so be on the lookout for those!
> 
> Finally, if you've read this far, thank you for caring. I say this all the damn time, but it means a lot. Thank you for reading and supporting this fic. Please be friends with me on Twitter (@fre_fics). And also I've created a curious cat (I'm still figuring out how it works but please ask me things I love to interact with my readers!) https://curiouscat.me/fre_fics
> 
> That's all from me from now. Love <3

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed! Please leave comments and kudos!  
> [TWT](https://twitter.com/fre_fics)
> 
> Follow me on Twitter for edits I have made associated with this fic and updates about when I upload more chapters!  
> Stream "Home" by Seventeen! Fighting Carats!
> 
> Disclaimer: This work is fiction, meant for fun! I am in no way claiming the members of Seventeen have these personalities or are of the sexual orientation they are in the story. Thank you for understanding!


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